


Caught in the Crossfire

by Mercy_Rhyne



Series: Fics of the MFU (Mercy's Fic Universe) [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fighting, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Minor Character Death, Multi, Roman is a dumbass but he means well, Sword Fighting, he tries, injuries, mostly by burning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-07-27 03:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 39
Words: 92,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20038837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercy_Rhyne/pseuds/Mercy_Rhyne
Summary: Roman is a fairly ordinary teen. Just like most of his peers, he's got friends, a desperate crush on this one cute guy, and a secret superhero identity. Yeah… totally ordinary.For a year now, Creativity has protected the town, fought crime, put criminals away. But he never really faced a big threat before. He's never had to face a real supervillain yet. Not until Hellfire showed up.With this dangerous villain targeting the citizens, can Roman still keep his identity a secret? And more importantly, can he defeat the guy on the other side of the mask?~First part in what is to be one big universe~~ Also check out my askblog on tumblr, @ask-the-mfu!!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Strong language, violence, guns

Roman was sure there was no better feeling than getting up to the top of one of the highest buildings in town and just… looking around. Looking at the tiny cars and specks of humans down on the ground. Maybe flying around in the open sky would be, but he could never be sure. He wanted to, though. Maybe one day, he could find a way to make it there. But for now, he had to stay grounded. Which wasn’t all that bad either, let’s be real. If he sat here, he could get a good view of the city, and he could calm down, looking at the tiny people below. This was a place where he could be alone. Few could come up here - total privacy.

He pulled his red and white mask off, revealing his gorgeous mask-hair. It was most likely a mess, but no one would see it anyway. At least now, his nose was free, and he could breathe a little better. The mask usually covered his nose, and while he could still breathe through his mouth, this was much better. Easier.

The sun was about to set, he noticed. Hopefully, he would be able to see the sunset today, without disturbances. It looked gorgeous from up here, and it was probably one of his favourite sights. He had seen it time and time again, but it never ceased to be incredible.

However, it didn’t last. He managed to get at least a few minutes of the gorgeous sight when he heard something no one wanted to hear – or maybe some did. Maybe _he_ did.

Gunfire. Just a few shots, but even those two were more than enough to alert him. Without hesitating, Roman pulled his mask down and took a small leap before jumping down from the building. with his telekinetic powers, the teen slowed down his speed so that the impact of the fall didn’t hurt him like it normally would have.

Roman landed on the ground, making a small shoulder roll as he did so, and he immediately got up, running in the direction of the noise. He got slightly tangled in the golden cape trailing behind him, but he shook it off in a second.

He was hardly out of breath when he made it to the source of the chaos; a group of three armed people in the process of robbing an electronics shop. One of the employees had been shot in their shoulder, and they had fallen down behind the desk. The hero crouched down next to them, softly telling them to call the police if they hadn’t already – they probably had, but he wanted to be sure on this.  
Roman conjured up his sword – it was dull, but still a great tool to fight people with. He didn’t want to kill anyone, just… stop them. The sword was too dull to actually kill anyone with, which was his main reason for using it.

This looked like a job for Creativity.

The three criminals hadn’t seen him yet, they were too busy working away on the registers and taking some of the other goods in the store. Good.

“Didn’t your parents teach you that stealing is bad?” the hero called out loudly as he sauntered into the store, swinging the sword at his side.

Almost immediately, three guns were aimed at his face and Roman chuckled, ignoring his wildly beating heart. “Woah, easy, fellows,” he grinned. “It’s only me, no need to worry!”

The three criminals were each wearing masks. Of course they were. People like them always wore masks.

The one closest to Roman looked back at the two others, and while they nodded and gestured with their heads, the teenager only saw an opportunity.

He let go of his sword and it disappeared into thin air. In a flash, Roman grabbed the hand holding the gun, twisting it painfully, until the man dropped his gun. He then pulled the other towards him, putting his hand behind his back. The guy functioned as a shield from the two remaining guns in the shop. If only he could get a little closer…

Okay, first things first: the guns. With a simple nod of his head, Roman pulled both of the guns out of the criminals’ hands, using his telekinetic powers. He made sure that the guns were well out of their range, so the bad guys couldn’t just jump at the weapons and shoot at him anyway.  
Then, he pushed his human shield into the wall, making sure to hit him head first, so he would be knocked out by the force. At least that would be one less guy to worry about, right? Then, he conjured his sword again and held it out to the two others.

“Look,” he said as he stepped towards them confidently. “You seem like _great_ guys, so why don’t we make a deal? You drop those bags and surrender yourselves, and I’ll be easy on you, okay?”  
Instead of a response, the criminal behind the counter threw their bag at Roman, who simply raised a hand, stopping the bag in mid-air, before flinging it back at its owner, making them stumble back a few steps.

“So that’s a no, then?” Roman asked as he looked between the two criminals. “Fine with me.”  
He saw the guy next to him pull back his arm and he ducked, avoiding his punch and getting him in the perfect position to elbow him in the ribs. As the guy took a step or two back, Roman swiped his legs away from underneath him, causing him to fall into the shelves behind him with a loud crash.

What he didn’t see, however, was that the criminal behind the counter had used this moment of distraction to get behind the hero, first grabbing their gun off the ground, before shooting it at Roman.  
Luckily for Roman, he wore a suit that was pretty much bullet resistant – a fabric he had developed himself, using his powers of creation. It took him a lot of experiments and a lot of failed attempts, but he found something that would take away most of the damage from the bullets people might shoot at him. This, however, didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt, or that it wouldn’t leave a mark. It slowed down the bullet, but it still did hit him. Just not enough to be lethal.

“Son of a bitch,” Roman hissed as he felt the impact in his back. He had a feeling it had started to bleed, so he needed to remember to patch that up later. With a grunt, he turned around, glaring at the criminal from behind his mask. He pulled the gun out of their hand once more, moving the other guns out of their reach as well. “Attacking someone from behind? That just makes you a coward.”

With no weapons for grabbing, the criminal decided to use their fists instead, rushing up to Roman with their fists balled. The young hero managed to block their first punch with his left hand, but he missed the second fist, aimed just above his jaw.  
He let out a short huff of breath as the fist hit. He needed more distance. The criminal was now way too close for him to use his sword. With this proximity, it was nearly impossible to hit them. So that was out of the question. Luckily, Roman had more options to fight than just his sword.

Before he could, though, his opponent kneed him in the stomach, and he stumbled back. That one had been… painful. He managed to jump out of the way of their next attack, though, and raised his sword, hitting the guy across the shoulder, not drawing any blood, but strong enough to bruise and force them back a bit. Roman held his weapon in front of him to put distance between the two of them as he walked closer to the criminal until his sword hit their chest.

He noticed their eyes darting around, looking for an escape or for a weapon to use. Roman was on guard, ready to move if needed, but despite that, he wasn’t quick enough to stop his opponent as they ducked underneath his sword and rolled to the side, getting up quickly. They kicked the sword out of the hero’s hand, and he let them. He could get it back if he wanted, but he felt like he didn’t need it anytime soon.  
He already heard the police sirens drawing nearer. It wouldn’t be long before they would be here. A minute, at the very most.

Roman decided to wait. The criminal would either try to flee or try to get rid of him. When they would make a move, Roman would know what to do to them.  
It was clear that his opponent wasn’t sure what to do. They could try to flee, but leave their mates behind without a guarantee of it working, or they could go down fighting.

They chose the latter.

They balled their fists and swung at Roman, who ducked and grabbed one of their arms as tightly as he could, spinning himself slightly, so he could elbow their jaw forcefully enough to send them stumbling back. Roman released their hand and aiming for their temple, quickly knocking them out, just as he saw the red and blue lights of the police approaching. Just in time.

Roman quickly made sure his sword disappeared, shooting a reassuring smile at the two employees as he walked out of the store to face the police.  
“There’s three of them,” he said as he saw the first cop approaching. “I took care of all of them. You’re welcome. Take care of the employees too.”  
He winked at the cop and walked away before they could even respond. As he pushed his way through the small crowd that had gathered around the store, he conjured up a grappling hook to get him safely to the top of the building. Now he just had to get back home safely.

Somewhere along the way, Roman changed into his regular outfit with a simple snap of his fingers. He dropped himself off in an empty alley not far from his apartment. He went back home, hoping that he could slip into the bathroom to cover up the bruise that would surely form on his jaw before his mother saw him.

“I’m home!” he shouted, closing the door behind him. “I’m... going to take a shower!”  
Without waiting for a response from his mother, he rushed to the bathroom. A shower did sound great. It could also give him the time to try to bandage the wound on his back.

Admittedly, it took him longer than he would have liked. But the wound was on his _back_, how was anyone supposed to reach that??

Anyway, he made it eventually. He patched himself up, covered up the bruise with some make-up and walked back downstairs, greeting his mom like nothing had happened. She was sitting on the couch, a glass of red wine in front of her. His little sister had already gone to sleep, apparently.

“I’m back,” he grinned, sitting down next to her on the couch. “What are we watching?”

“I… have no idea,” she responded slowly, looking at the screen, trying to figure out the show she had turned on. “You’re late today.”

Roman nodded. “Yeah, I know, sorry,” he said softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “We- eh… lost track of time.”

“Of course you did,” she said, knowing full well that they always did – or, that was Roman’s go-to excuse, at least. “Sophie missed you, though.”

“I’ll be there to tell her goodnight tomorrow,” Roman promised. “Patton has a… a family thing anyway.” Noted. No going out superhero’ing tomorrow, then.

He didn’t look at his mom as he said this. He hated having to lie to her, but it was better than telling her the truth. He couldn’t tell her the truth. She would probably die from worry. And he didn’t want to have her death on his conscious. On top of that, the more people knew about him, the more people could betray his identity – whether it was accidental or intentional. No, he wanted to stay safe. And being safe meant not telling anyone, however hard it would be. It was for the best.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of injuries and sword fighting, but other than that… none

Roman hid a grimace as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. He had momentarily forgotten about the wound that the strap of his bag was very much pressing on. He couldn’t wait to deal with this for the rest of the week.

As he had said goodbye to his mom and little sister, the teen rushed to the bus stop, ignoring the dull ache coming from the wound on his shoulder, and the bruise on his stomach. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to it. He’d been hurt before. It was fine.

Not long after Roman made it to the bus stop, he saw the yellow bus appearing in the distance. There were a few other teens waiting with him. Most of them, Roman recognized – mostly because they waited here often as well. That was literally all he knew about them. It was strange, how he could point these people out if he had to, yet he knew nothing about them at all. Not even a name.

As soon as the bus pulled up, Roman got in, making his way all the way to the back of the bus, where his best friend Patton would be waiting. They’d agreed to always try to get a seat to the back, so they – meaning Roman – wouldn’t have to pass every row of seats, looking for his friend. This was way easier.

Roman quickly spotted his best friend and carefully slipped into the seat next to him, greeting him with a smile.

After the initial greetings, they chatted a bit, about anything they could, until the bus stopped in front of their school. Roman picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder again, and trying not to wince as the new pressure on his wound. Unfortunately for him, Patton was very observant – especially when it came to the wellbeing of his friends.

“Are you okay, Ro?” he asked softly as they shuffled out of the bus.

“What? Oh- yeah,” Roman nodded absentmindedly. “I just… hit my shoulder during training is all. It’s alright.”

Roman had been taking sword-fighting classes for seven years now. Younger him wanted to be a knight so desperately. He had practically  _ begged  _ his mom to let him take take sword-fighting classes. After a year or so, she had finally complied – but only after a  _ lot  _ of research. And look at him now!

He was pretty sure he had used his training as an excuse on pretty much every day of the week, even though he only had two classes per week. And Patton was well aware. Roman noticed this as he looked back at his friend, who had narrowed his eyes ever so slightly in suspicion.

“You don’t have training on Mondays, though,” he concluded after a second or two. “That’s not until tomorrow.”

Roman bit his lower lip as he finally managed to exit the bus, taking in fresh air once more. “Well… I was bored,” he shrugged. “Just wanted to do some extra training.”

“Well, you should be more careful, then,” Patton hummed softly, not responding as they walked to the building. Roman felt like he didn’t quite believe his lies – rightfully so, of course – but he didn’t continue asking.

“Yeah, I probably should,” the other teen nodded with a chuckle. “But, hey… you know me, right?”

“I guess I do,” Patton nodded, a smile breaking through on his face, and Roman felt at least  _ some  _ relief at the fact that he’d managed to avoid the subject. Patton had been getting more and more suspicious lately, and Roman feared that he might not be able to hide this secret for much longer. But as long as he could avoid this… he would.

The two walked in silence for a bit more, until Roman reached his locked. “Well, this is me,” he stated as he stopped. “I’ll see you in philosophy, right?”

“You better,” Patton winked as he continued on to his own locker. Roman grinned and opened his locker, getting out all the stuff he would need for his first classes, before heading to his first class of the day, chemistry. Awesome.

He sat down in the back of the class, in his usual seat next to the window, where he could look outside and daydream about anything but school. Most of his teachers weren’t too fond of that, but it’s not like that made Roman stop. He did it anyway.

The last student to enter the room, as always, was Virgil Adreana. He always kept to himself, his headphones on, closed off from the rest of the school. He never talked a lot to anyone that wasn’t one of his few friends, yet Roman couldn’t help but notice him nearly every day. Something about Virgil just… caught his attention. Very likely the fact that he was absolutely stunning, and that Roman was extremely gay.

When the bell rang, their teacher, Logan Macauley got up, starting his class like usual. Roman rested his chin on his hand as he tried to focus on his teacher explaining things about radioactivity, but as always, his attention drifted away every now and then. He managed to make some notes, but by the end of class, his notebook also contained a lot of mindless doodles. Just like pretty much every single page in every single one of his notebooks.

Roman snuck the occasional glance at the clock, and he was relieved to see the end drawing nearer. He liked chemistry, honestly, but he just… hated having to pay attention. He was never good at that.

Logan wrapped up the lecture a little earlier than expected, ending the class with the announcement that they’d have to do a project. In pairs.

“And to avoid any…  _ incidents _ ,” he finished, shooting a meaningful glance at a few grinning guys on the other side of the classroom. “I took the liberty of making groups for you.”

This announcement elicited some mixed responses from the class. In all honesty, Roman didn’t even mind. He didn’t know a lot of people in this class that well, so this spared him the awkwardness of walking up to half a stranger and asking them to do the project together. This made everything much easier for him.

Logan gradually made it through his list of names, some people were excited or relieved by their partner, some indifferent, some disappointed.

But when Roman heard his name, he could not be happier with his partner. For it was Virgil Adreana.

He glanced over at the guy on the other side of the classroom, only to find that he was looking at him at the same time, which only caused his heartbeat to speed up. Oh God. They locked eyes. Act natural. Be chill. Act normal.

Roman just shot him a quick smile and looked away before he could do anything weird. Just… be cool.

Logan finished his list and told the students once more that the project could be pretty much anything they wanted. As long as it was chemistry, and as long as it was related to their curriculum. But other than those two demands, they were free in their choice.

And as if it was arranged, the bell rang, just as he finished up. Immediately, the students grabbed their books and bags and left the room, on their way to the next class.

Roman was busy packing up his things as he heard a soft voice behind him. “Uh- hey…”

As he turned around, Roman saw Virgil standing there, hiding in his patched-up hoodie, as always. Roman absolutely loved that hoodie, and he had always been curious to know if Virgil made it himself. It looked self-made, at least.

“Hey!” the teen grinned, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. “So… project, huh?”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah…” he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Roman’s eyes. “I thought we should- uh… exchange phone numbers? So we can… I don’t know, discuss things?”

“Yeah, of course.” Roman spared a glance at his teacher, who was busy grading something on his desk. “I guess we should… get out first? I think we’ve got this next class together anyway, right?”

Well… that was a lie. Roman  _ knew  _ they had this next class together. Not that he was stalking Virgil or anything, just… he noticed Virgil everywhere, okay?

“Think so,” the other mumbled. “Yeah… sounds good.”

Roman swung the bag over his shoulder – finally having made the wise decision to use his uninjured shoulder for once. It felt a little odd, seeing as he didn’t usually carry his bag like this, but at least it would be easier on his wound.

As they walked, Virgil took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Roman. “Here you go,” he said softly. Roman smiled at him as he took the phone. And you know that cliché-moment where the two future lovers brush their fingers past each other and it’s described as feeling like static between them? Well, that didn’t happen. But if you would ask Roman, it  _ totally  _ did.

Roman smiled at Virgil as he entered his number into Virgil’s phone and handed it back to him.

“Thanks,” the other smiled as he pocketed his phone again. “I- I’ll text you.”

“Sounds good,” Roman nodded as they walked into the next classroom. The two went their separate ways, sitting down in their usual seats on opposing sides of the classroom.

During their break, Roman  _ finally  _ decided to tell Patton about his chemistry partner. He didn’t want to gush about it during class, with Virgil being  _ right there with them _ . During break, they would usually be safe with no Virgil around, so… yeah, that was obviously the perfect time to tell.

“Pat,” he started off as he sat down at their table. “You will never guess what happened in chemistry today.”

“Tell me,” Patton responded, leaning closer to his friend. “I’m all ears.”

Roman nodded. “Okay, so… Macauley assigned us this big project about… chemistry, I guess, and he assigned our duos. So my partner is-“ He looked around, just to be sure he was safe. No Virgil in sight. “-Virgil.”

Patton’s eyebrows shot up. “What?  _ The  _ Virgil?”

“ _ The  _ Virgil,” Roman confirmed with a grin as he took a bite of his food. “I gave him my number, so we could discuss the project and all, and I’m just- so gay.”

“Oh my goodness, that’s awesome, Ro!” Patton grinned, knowing every single detail about Roman’s crush on the other guy. And he might secretly ship it, too, but that was just something for himself. He wouldn’t tell Roman, cause he just  _ knew  _ his friend would make a scene out of it. He knew Roman well enough.

“He’s so  _ cute _ , Patton,” Roman whined dramatically, leaning his elbows on the table before him. “I don’t even know how I can  _ survive _ !”

“I’m sure you’ll find something, Ro,” his friend reassured him, patting his head gently. “I believe in you.”

Roman’s only response was another dramatic whine.


	3. Chapter 3

That afternoon, Roman went straight back home. Well- he was still very gay, but… you get the point. He went back home. 

It was a rare occasion for him to go home immediately; he usually went to Patton’s home, or he roamed the city a bit, looking out for people to fight, people to help. But, he had made a promise to his mother, to be there for his sister, and so he would. Maybe it was good to take a break from Creativity anyway, even if it was just one day. He’d have sword fighting tomorrow, so maybe taking it easy for one day  _ would  _ be beneficial. Not that he had ever taken it easy for the past year he’d been Creativity, but that was only a small detail. He took some time for himself every once in a while, and that was what mattered.

“I’m home,” the teen called out to his mom when he made it back home. He dropped his bag in the hallway – he knew his mom hated it when he did that, but he would get rid of it soon enough – and made his way to the living room, where his mom and Sophie were watching something on TV.

“Hey, Ro,” Megan Palmer smiled, patting the spot beside her on the couch. “You’re home early.”

Roman nodded as he sat down next to his mom. “Yeah, I told you, Patton had a family thing after school. So I thought I’d stop by.”

“Well, I’m glad to see your face again. I’m sure Sophie is too.”

“Are you sure? I’d say she’s paying more attention to the TV than to me,” the teen grinned, nodding at his younger sister, who was engrossed by the characters on the screen.

Megan chuckled and nodded. “Fair point. How was school today?”

Roman shrugged. “Pretty okay, nothing too special. Got a chemistry project, though.”

Right on time, Roman got a text message, and he quickly checked his phone.

** _[Unknown]: _ ** _ hey _

** _[Unknown]: _ ** _ this is virgil btw _

He grinned as he saw the message, biting his lip quickly as he typed out a response. His mom noticed the grin and nudged him gently.

“Who are you texting?” she asked teasingly. “Your boyfriend?”

“What? No! Just my project partner!”

“Your project partner who’s your boyfriend?”

“ _ Mom _ !”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m just teasing, Ro,” she told him gently. “Do you know what your project will be about?”

“Nope, we still have to discuss that,” he answered, putting away his phone. “But we have time for that.”

His mom nodded, turning her attention back to Sophie, who finally managed to tear her attention away from the television. Mainly because the show had ended, and was now rolling the end credits. She noticed her brother and grinned, greeting him enthusiastically. She really did love Roman a lot, and he had been away far too much for her liking, so seeing him here was just amazing.

“Hey, Soph,” Roman grinned as she greeted her older brother. “Happy to see me?”

Sophie nodded and ran towards Roman, jumping onto the couch so she could hug him. Her brother chuckled as he returned the hug, lifting her slightly as he did so.

“That’s good, cause I’m happy to see you, too.”

She grinned and started rambling about her day, excitedly telling her older brother what happened at school that day. Roman smiled as he listened to her tale. Maybe not everything made sense, but it was an enjoyable one nonetheless. Sophie really did love Roman, and he wasn’t home often enough for her liking. She loved playing with him - mostly because  _ he  _ loved it just as much because it gave him a chance to spend time with his sister. And her enthusiasm was absolutely  _ adorable _ .

“Do you want anything to drink, Ro?” Megan asked as she got up, looking at her two kids. 

“Eh- some tea, maybe?” he responded, returning the gaze. 

His mother nodded. “Of course. Sophie?” 

Sophie shook her head as she rested against Roman’s chest, playing with his jacket. With that response, Megan left the room, getting some tea for her son and herself. Meanwhile, Roman talked to his sister, wrapping his arms around her. 

“Roro?” Sophie asked softly, looking up at her brother. 

“Yeah?”

“Can you tell me a story tonight?”

She gave him a hopeful smile, one that Roman couldn’t say no to, even if he wanted to. He often told her stories before she went to sleep - usually ones he made up himself, but he sometimes would read her something if she asked for it. And even though he did it way less since the Creativity-thing started, Sophie absolutely loved it when he did this. To be fair… Roman loved it just as much. It gave him an outlet for his creativity (haha), and a chance to tell all the stories he never had the time to write. He usually went all in, with full character backgrounds and, of course, voices for every single character. Sophie adored it. And, secretly, so did their mom. 

“Of course,” he promised her warmly. “What would you like to hear about?”

Sophie scrunched up her nose as she thought about the question. There were a few universes where Roman’s stories took place, and occasionally, Sophie would request something herself. 

“The princesses?”

“But of course! Whatever you want, Soph.”

His sister grinned, seemingly content with the response she got from her older sibling. After that, no one spoke for a while. The TV still played in the background, but no one really paid attention to it. Megan came back with two mugs of tea, which she then placed on the coffee table as she sat down next to her two kids. She was pretty sure Sophie could fall asleep right then and there, she looked that calm and peaceful. Roman had picked up his phone, and was texting someone with a slight smile on his face. Other than that, no one moved, or did… anything, really. It wasn’t often that the family got together like this. Roman was out a lot these days, and she understood. He wanted to be alone, spend time from his friends, without his tiny sister and mother. And of course, homework. But still… she would like it if they had more time together with just the three of them. She cherished these moments, and sadly, they seemed to grow rarer and rarer. So she decided she would just have to cherish these moments even more. 

After dinner, the family sat down to have just a bit of downtime, to relax and just chat about anything. Sophie told Roman about something one of her friends told her at school that day, and her brother listened to every bit of it. It wasn’t long before she had to go to bed, though. So, Megan took her upstairs to help her with getting ready and promised she’d call Roman up when Sophie was ready. Roman nodded and waved at his sister as she and their mom went upstairs. He took this time to finish working out the story he would tell Sophie. He had thought about most of what he would tell, but just the details needed thinking of now. By the time that his mom called him, the teen had worked out most of the story - though to be fair, it was a part one. There would be at least one sequel. Maybe a third. 

Roman walked upstairs, seeing his sister curled up in bed, her favourite stuffed cat hugged close to her chest. 

“Are you ready, Soph?” Roman asked with a grin as he sat down on the chair next to her bed. 

“Yeah!” she nodded. “You should tell more stories, Roro.”

“I should, shouldn’t I?” he commented, nodding slowly. “I’ll try to be home more, I promise.”

Sophie seemed content with this response and snuggled a little further into her snug blanket cocoon as her brother introduced the tale. 

This particular universe revolved around two very gay, adventurous princesses in a fantasy world who also happened to be awesome knights. Their courage was known far and wide; everyone in the continent knew them. Every story was about them and their adventures. Also about their gayness, because come on. Gay princess knights. It had everything. 

This story was about the two princesses as they went on a journey to defeat a dragon, who kept a kingdom far away hostage. No one was able to defeat the dragon. Would the gay princess-knights be able to fight it off? 

(The answer was yes. They could do it. But answering that right away, would ruin the suspense. Duh.)

He told the first part of the story, about how the dragon destroyed an entire town, how one of its inhabitants managed to escape and travel thousands of miles to come to the princesses, knowing of their immense courage and power. How he told the princesses what had happened, and how he asked them to help. Of course, the two couldn’t refuse this man in need. They ordered their servants to help him, give him anything he needed, as they prepared to go out. 

He told about their dangerous trip to the abandoned country, into the territory of the dragon. About how they reached the remains of what was once the royal palace, that the dragon had now claimed as its own. 

And that’s where he quit. 

“The rest will be a story for next week,” he grinned with a slight taunt. “This is all.”

“But I wanna know what happens,” Sophie whined dramatically - she really resembled her brother on that. 

“But you will have to wait,” her brother teased in response. “It’s way too late already, Soph.”

To be fair… she could have seen it coming. And she probably did. Roman  _ did  _ really love his cliffhangers, and this wasn’t the first time he had pulled a stunt like this. But that didn’t take away from the fact that she hated it when he did this. Quite understandably. 

Sophie frowned at him, though Roman knew she didn’t mean it. Her older brother chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Good night, Soph.”

“Good night,” she huffed, giving him an offended look. Yeah, she really was taking after her older brother. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, Minor character death, death by burning, injuries, maybe strong language but I can't remember for sure

After school that next day, Roman took an hour or two to patrol the city, jumping from roof to roof, trying to find anything to do for himself. There unfortunately wasn’t a lot going on – or, maybe that was fortunate… depends on your point of view – so he could go home unscathed for once.

The teen changed into his regular clothes, conjured up his bag and went home. Just in time to eat something, change, and go to his training.

When he made it home, he was greeted by Sophie playing with her dolls – or technically, they were  _ his _ , but he hadn’t touched them in years, so they were hers now – while his mom greeted him from the kitchen, telling him she had made some early dinner for him, just in time so he could eat before training.

So he did. He had some spaghetti, changed into more comfortable clothing, and got ready to leave. He grabbed his bag, said his goodbyes to his mother and Sophie, before heading out. 

As always, he walked there. It was about a twenty-minute walk. Technically, he could take the bus, but it would only save him a few minutes, and he liked the walk. It gave him a bit of time to just… breathe, and calm down. Something he didn’t do a lot. Usually, if he wasn’t at school, making homework, or training, Roman would be out and about, patrolling the city to make sure nothing happened. Or he would relax, only to find out about a big thing happening that required Creativity’s help. So… he didn’t have a lot of time for himself, and these twenty minutes were everything to him.

When Roman made it to the venue, he went straight to the dressing room, where he dumped his bag and kicked off his shoes. A few others were already present and busy talking when he walked in. He was greeted by a chorus of ‘hey’s, and grinned at the other guys, who he might be able to carefully call his friends. 

They had a few more minutes together before their training started. A few minutes to just catch up, mess around with each other, and to prepare for the training. Roman always appreciated these moments together. He didn’t see these guys much outside of training and the occasional competition, so being able to talk to them was always great. Yes, they might be… friends, sort of, but they weren’t the kind of friends to always hang out. They had a group chat and they talked a lot, and sometimes the whole squad met up to go out somewhere, maybe grab some food or something, but… well… that was it. Not because they didn’t like each other, just because they couldn’t find the time. 

Soon enough, training started. But just as quickly as it began, it ended as well. The guys hung around in the dressing room for a few more minutes as they changed and caught their breath for a second. After that, though, they truly all left again.

When he just got out of the building, Roman heard some commotion down the street. He frowned and made his way in the direction of the chaos, curious to know what this was all about.

A small crowd had gathered, and they were looking up to some scene on a rooftop. All Roman could see, was a guy forced against the railing of the building, facing someone else in a black armour, illuminated by something blue, that looked like… fire.

“What is going on there?” he softly asked the woman in front of him. She didn’t take her eyes off of the scene as she responded:

“I’m not sure, it looks like that black one is threatening the other one, though.”

Yeah, Roman had come to that conclusion as well, he noted with a roll of his eyes. Nevertheless, he knew this was a job for him. He quickly ran away, into an alleyway. When he knew he was there alone, he snapped his fingers, changing into his Creativity-suit. He then conjured a grappling hook to get him to the top of the building with the two guys, landing behind them, his cape gracefully trailing behind him. 

The guy against the railing pushed himself back as far as he could, and Roman noticed several burn marks on his skin. In the same moment, he noticed the two black cuffs that tied his wrists to the railing. His clothes were clearly expensive, but now they were torn, burned and stained.

The other guy had their back turned to Roman, and it was hard to see much more than that. They wore a black suit, that seemed to cling to their skin, without being too restricting. The back of their head was covered too, but Roman could make out a vague glimmer of metal here and there, on their arms and part of their legs, but again, it didn’t seem to be hindering them in any way.

The chained up man seemed to notice Roman, and the teen brought a finger up to his lips, not wanting the man to give away his presence just yet. The person in black brought their hand back, blue and purple flames sparking around their fingers, and the teen hero knew he had to act.

He lifted his hand, holding the other guy’s hand still with his telekinetic powers. “Let’s not do that today, shall we?”

He noticed the alleged villain tensing up as he spoke, and as he saw the flames slowly fading, Roman let his powers diminish slowly, yet he was ready to act up once again if he had to. “Let the guy go, and I can be easy on you.”

T

he armoured person scoffed as they turned around. Roman noticed the weird tone to this one sound and frowned slightly, but he brushed it off to look at the person before him. Their eyes were covered by something that looked like… black steampunk goggles? Except more technologically advanced, and way more intimidating. On top of that, their mouth was covered by another piece of technology that was connected to their suit and the mask they wore.

“You don’t want to do this,” the other responded. Roman noticed how distorted their voice sounded, and it quickly clicked that they used something to alter their voice. That was pretty smart, he noted. He should have thought of that. Of course he didn’t think of that.

“I clearly do,” Roman responded, raising an eyebrow – even though his opponent wouldn’t see that behind his mask. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. Now, are you gonna let him go, or do I need to do that for you?”

“He doesn’t deserve it.”

Roman sighed, keeping an eye on his opponent. “I will do it for you, then,” he decided as he created a sword, swinging it at the guy in the black suit. They lifted an arm and easily stopped the weapon, a loud clang of metal meeting metal following, as the sword hit the armour shielding their arm. Roman gritted his teeth and tried to strike again, but the other’s armour stopped his hit again. This wouldn’t do it. He needed to find a different approach. Put more distance between them. He was pretty sure he could use his sword to aim at their face, or chest, or side, but he didn’t like that. Even if the sword was blunt, it might be able to do more damage than he wanted to. He just wanted to bring the guy down, so the police could take them away, not put them into the hospital.

The teen lowered his sword, taking a few steps back. He made sure to keep his eyes on his enemy as he made his way towards the guy they kept captive.

“Oh, hey, you’re that one guy!” he exclaimed when he looked at the man. He looked familiar, and Roman knew that he had seen him before. But where? “That- that… banker guy!”

The guy before him was, like Roman had figured out, a ‘banker guy’. He didn’t quite remember his name, but he knew the man was involved in a huge whitewashing scandal. Not to mention that he was a banker, so the chances of him being an asshole were large anyway. No offense to bankers.

Creativity turned to the enemy, wanting to comment on this revelation, when he saw a blue flame being fired at him. Roman cursed and, before he could blink, summoned a shield, successfully stopping the flame.

“Hey, give me a break,” he called out, as he tossed the half-molten shield to the side. “Don’t be one of  _ those _ guys, okay? That is unfair.”

T he teen pouted as he lunged at the armoured guy again. He doubted that he would be able to make a move, with the other acting so quickly to his attacks, but he had to do something. He had to get them back, he had to get some space so he could work on getting the banker free. Corrupt or not, he would get him out of here.

Roman lifted his hand above his head, bringing it down with force. As expected, his enemy raised their arm to stop his sword, and the teen used this distraction to hook his leg behind theirs, pulling it away to tackle them to the ground. He pushed their shoulder down in the process, putting as much force behind it as he could. In a second or two, Roman pulled away, rushing to the banker as the other fell down.

“Please don’t get up, please don’t get up,” he murmured and he knelt next to the banker, looking at the cuffs. Even through the fabric of his suit covering his hands, Roman felt that their metal was extremely cold, nearly unnatural. He glanced at the guy in black armour, who had pushed themself up, but he quickly focussed his attention on getting the cuffs loose. But he couldn’t find a lock or any opening. He had just conjured up the sharpest dagger he was capable of and tried to cut through the chains, but he was stopped by the armoured guy’s distorted voice.

“Don’t even bother,” they told him, getting up. “It won’t work.”

Roman just looked at them as he tried it anyway, like one of those cats pushing a glass off the table, even after you told them specifically  _ not to _ . It would have been awesome if he had managed to cut through the chain anyway, but unfortunately, he failed.

“Well then,” he sighed as he got up, holding out his hand to summon the shield he threw to the side earlier. “I guess we’re gonna be here for a while, cause I’m not letting you hurt this guy.”

He quickly caught the shield flying towards him and raised it so that he covered his chest and abdomen. Then, he rushed at his opponent, using the shield to hit their chin, sending them stumbling back. He made a small turn and hit the shield on the side of his enemy’s face twice. If his sword would not work, he would use this shield to fight. The guy took a few steps back and Roman jumped backwards a bit himself, using the distance to kick the guy in the stomach, with enough force to send them back into the railing on the edge of the roof. And leave a bruise- hopefully.

The other guy looked at Roman for a second, before they lifted their hand, and the teen hero saw a few small, purple sparks appearing around their fingers. He acted quickly and lifted the shield, protecting himself from the fire that hit it not much later. He felt the heat of the flame against the shield, but there was one thing he missed.

While he was so busy shielding himself, the enemy lifted their other hand, sending a flame towards the banker as well. Roman didn’t notice until he heard his screams upon being pretty much fried alive. He tugged at his cuffs as his clothes caught flame, but yelled even more when they gave off a shock as the sudden force.

Roman widened his eyes as he saw what happened and dropped his shield, rushing towards the banker as he tried to summon something to extinguish the flames before it was too late.

But before he could, his wrist was grabbed tightly, and he was spun around, away from the guy who was very much dying behind him. Roman glared at the armoured guy and tried to pull his arm free, while using his other hand to try and hit them. However, that hand was quickly caught too, and Roman could swear he saw a small smirk behind their mask.

Okay… now he just had to get himself free. Pulling away did not work, because the other’s grip was far too tight. Summoning his sword or the shield was tricky, and difficult, but it was his best bet. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was worth a shot.

However, he was stopped before he could, by a sharp burning pain shooting through his wrists. The screaming in the background had died down, and Roman feared for the worst, but he was too distracted right now, the pain only fuelling his tries to get out.

The next thing he knew, was that he was shoved back into the railing on the side of the building. He stumbled and for a second, he feared that he would fall down. But he was still standing. And he still had time to stop the black-suited guy.

But as he pushed himself forwards, he was met with a fist. Great. That would be a black eye.

The teen hero fell back again and felt another shove back – one that very nearly did send him flying down. He nearly fell down, but managed to steady himself on the railing before he would fall. But when he was steady again, the guy in black armour was gone.

Roman cursed and looked to the side. The banker was very much dead, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. The cuffs were gone and he had slumped back against the railing. The flames had disappeared too, leaving just an awfully burned body.

When he looked down, Roman saw the crowd on the ground staring up at him in concern, and he sighed. He’d have to face those people before going down.

His wrists and right side of his face were in pain, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it as he summoned another grappling hook and secured it to the railing. After making sure he had his sword, the teen got rid of the half-molten shield and made his way back to the ground.

As soon as he made it down, people gathered around him, wanting to find out what had happened and who just attacked.

“Look, I don’t know either, okay?” he asked, his voice a little lower than usual. “I don’t know them. Didn’t see a face, their voice was altered too. I’ve got nothing. Sorry, I- I don’t have any time.”

He turned around, wanting to go home so he could shower, have a look at the marks on his wrists, take some  _ rest _ . But people kept calling out to him, kept walking up to him. He didn’t mind getting some attention, he really didn’t, but he just wanted to go home, and he didn’t feel like giving many answers right now. He didn’t even  _ have  _ a lot of answers himself.

But, he took the time for a picture or two – mostly because the people pushed a lot, and he thought he could get rid of them by complying. He probably shouldn’t have, but whatever. But then, he really needed to disappear. The teen walked away, without another word, finding a safe place to change.

By the time he got home, Roman had thought of a cover-up for the bruise developing on the side of his face. The pain in his wrists had subsided a bit, but it was still  _ there _ . He’d have to look at that when he got home.

“I’m back!” he called as he stepped into the hallway, carefully slipping off his jacket.

“Did you have a good training?” his mom answered him after a brief greeting.

Roman nodded, making his way back to the living room. “Yeah. Lennard punched me, though,” he chuckled softly and continued, before his mom could even utter any word. “It was an accident. We were sparring and he slipped. I think it should be fine eventually, it’s not anything too bad.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded once more. “Yeah. I’m gonna take a shower first anyway, I’ll have a look at it then, okay?”

His mom sighed and nodded. “Alright,” she complied. “Think you need an ice pack?”

“Maybe,” the teen responded. “Probably.” He walked away without another word, wanting to get to the safety of the bathroom as quickly as possible, so he could finally look at his wrists. 

When he got to the bathroom, the teen carefully took off his shirt, wincing as the fabric brushed past the tender skin of his wrists. He bit his lip and looked down. Both of his wrists were red and showed some blisters. The irritated skin ran all around his wrists, the lines thicker in some places than in others. Great. 

It was good that it was still winter, so Roman could hide the burns until they were fully healed. The only problem was PE, but he was confident that he could hide the marks somehow. 

The teen took a cold shower, making sure to cool the burns on his wrists. He wasn’t sure if it still helped, seeing as it had been a while since the injuries had been inflicted, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. 

He then carefully changed into his pyjamas - because  _ of course _ he was going for fluffy and warm over stupid normal clothes - and summoned an antibiotic cream the internet recommended to him. He didn’t know for sure if it would help as much as the original thing, but again: it wouldn’t hurt to try. 

After having taken a few painkillers, Roman finally made his way downstairs, joining his mom on the couch, watching some random tv show. She wordlessly handed him an ice pack, which he gratefully took and put to his eye. He knew it was stupid to comment this, but  _ holy shit that was cold _ . 

“You’re home late today,” Megan commented after a few seconds of silence. 

Roman nodded, biting his lip as he thought of an excuse. He hadn’t thought to make up an excuse for this particular problem. “Yeah, I- there was this thing going on with the- Creativity guy on my way back,” he quickly lied. “So I had to take a detour. Seemed safer, you know?”

The teen held his breath for a second, but his mother quickly responded. “That’s wise,” she concluded. Roman let out a relieved breath, glad that his mom bought his lie. “Did you see what was happening?”

“Not sure,” he shrugged. “They were on a roof. Creativity and this… person dressed in black. I think the one in black wanted to kill someone or something? I don’t know. I bet it’ll be all over the internet tomorrow, though.”

“Oh, that it will,” she grinned. “Sophie will be glad to see that.”

Roman laughed softly. “She will.” Sophie absolutely  _ loved  _ Creativity. She probably loved him more than she loved Roman - which was funny, considering they were the same person. Roman had to admit he sometimes had a hard time not telling her the truth, just because he knew she would go wild when she found out his secret identity. Also because he loved his powers, and they were quite convenient at times, and he wanted to be able to use them freely at home. But he still felt like it was best if no one would know. This was his little secret.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Nightmare, crying, guilt, a slight mention of self hate, discussion about murder,

_ He was back on the roof again. It was dark and cold, and he knew something was about to happen. The wind played with his cape, and everything seemed calm. But he knew it wasn’t. He knew something was going to happen. _

_ Then, a light appeared. A small, blue light. It flickered slightly. Wait- it wasn’t a light. It was… a flame. _

_ There was a bright flash, and just a moment later, the calm atmosphere disappeared. He was back on the roof, and this time, the banker was there too. And he was on fire. Screaming. Actively _ dying _ . Roman knew he had to do something, but he couldn’t. It was as if he was frozen in place. He couldn’t even look away. He was just… frozen as he looked at the man. _

_ He had to help. He _ had _ to. It was HIS job to keep the city safe. Why couldn’t he do it? Why couldn’t he move? Why couldn’t he help him? _

_ Why? _

Roman shot up, immediately wincing at the pain in his wrists. His heart was beating rapidly, pounding against his ribs. And his mind was spinning, thoughts spiraling out of control. 

“I should have saved him,” he muttered to himself, running his hands through his hair. “I should have saved him.”

The image of the banker literally burning was still very vivid and very clear in his mind. Roman wasn’t sure he would ever get that out of his mind. He was _ there _ . Why didn’t he stop it? Why couldn’t he do anything? It was all his fault. He could have saved that guy. He _ should _have. It was his duty. People counted on him to help them. And if he couldn’t even do that…

No. He couldn’t think like that. He had to… be positive? If he could even do that after he literally watched a guy die. If he hadn’t let himself be distracted so easily, the banker might still be alive. It felt incredibly bad to know that all of this… was just his fault. 

Roman let out half a sob as he pulled his knees closer to his chest, trying to comfort himself. He tried to stop thinking about it, but he couldn’t. Every time he tried to think of something else, the image of the banker came back to his mind. His mind started to spiral again and it kept going and going and going. He hated how he had failed to save the man on the roof. He hated how he didn’t do anything. He hated _ himself _.

Finally, the teen decided that he had to distract himself, so he grabbed his phone so he could scroll through Tumblr for a bit, until he felt calm enough to go back to sleep. It was three am, he noticed. Hopefully, there would be enough time for him to actually get some more rest so he wouldn’t have to go to school on three hours of sleep. That might literally kill him. 

It was close to four am when he finally felt calm enough to sleep. His mind was still tempted to wander to places where he didn’t want it to go, but at least he was calmer. He wasn’t as panicked, and he might be able to sleep. Or so he hoped. 

Eventually, it was just a little past four when he finally managed to fall asleep again. 

The next day, Roman knew he would get comments about his black eye. He didn’t have the time to cover up the bruise with makeup, so he would just have to… suffer like this for the day.

Of course, Patton immediately gasped as soon as he saw his friend, and he demanded to know what happened. Roman wouldn’t have expected any less. Patton was quite protective of his friends. He could probably kill for them.

“Pat, it’s cool, okay?” Roman said, calming down his friend. “A guy punched me during training, is all.”

“A guy did _ what now _?”

“It was an accident! He didn’t mean anything with it. Please don’t kill him over this, alright?”

Patton gave Roman a playful glare, but finally sighed. “_ Fine _. But you better tell whoever did this, that I will be coming for them if this happens again.”

Roman chuckled. “I will let him know when I see him again,” he promised.

“Good.” They fell silent for a bit, their silence only interrupted by literally anyone else on the bus. Taking the bus was just- _ great _. It would be so much better if Roman could just use his powers to magic himself over to school, but that would be too obvious. Besides, he couldn’t let Patton go alone. That would be rude. And it would be suspicious. And on top of that, who liked going to school by themselves? No one. And especially not Patton. 

When they went quiet, Roman could swear he heard people not far away from him talking about the guy that was found dead last night. It was the banker he had tried to save – Ron Cooper, he was called. The two friends were chatting about what happened, and about this new villain – were they gonna come back, or was it a one time revenge? Who would they be? What was their plan? And while it was hardly a smiling business, Roman couldn’t suppress at least a tiny smile. It was just- weird. He had fought this guy last night. He had tried to save Cooper. And now, people were talking about it. They were talking about _ him _. And no one knew. No one knew that he had literally encountered this new villain. 

Patton seemed to have overheard the conversation as well, as he nudged Roman gently. “Have you heard about the new Creativity-thing?” he asked slowly. He waited for Roman to nod before he continued. “Wasn’t that a few streets away from your sword training?”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded, looking back at his friend. He couldn’t help but feel a tiny spike of anxiety. Now he had to watch his words _ very _carefully to not give anything away.

“Did you notice anything?”

Roman shrugged. “A bit of chaos on the streets,” he lied easily, “but I didn’t think anything of it. I took a small detour to avoid all of it. I didn’t want to be caught up in all of that. Heard a lot about it later, though.”

“Yeah, I heard it was bad there.”

“I can imagine. It was pretty fucking crowded, too. Just glad I didn’t… see all of that, I guess. Don’t think it was a pretty sight.”

Patton hummed in agreement, but he didn’t respond - much to his friend’s relief. It was hard to talk about it, to _ remember _ all of it, and pretend to know nothing about it. It was probably the worst thing about this superhero gig. Because how was he supposed to act indifferent to all of this if he literally saw that Cooper-guy dying right in front of him? If he literally heard him screaming as he was _ incinerated _? It was difficult. Really fucking difficult. The images were way too fresh still.

Roman was glad when they finally made it to school. The bus wasn’t his favourite way of transport, but it was the best option he had. He didn’t have a driver’s licence, and while Patton _ did _, he didn’t have a car. He could occasionally use his mom’s car, but only occasionally, as she often needed it to get to work herself. They used the car anytime they could, though, because it was just way better than having to sit in a bus with all these other annoying kids.

Luckily, they soon made it out, alive and well, and Roman could finally breathe the fresh air again. He looked back at Patton and waited for his friend to catch up with him. when they were once again together, they made their way to their lockers, chatting a bit about school. (“Did you understand anything of the math homework?” “Bold of you to assume I made it.”)

When Roman reached his locker, they separated – though they would see each other again in math, which was their first period so… it was of a very brief time. However, it gave Roman a bit of time to himself. He had to rush this morning, and he didn’t get the time to properly bandage the burns on his wrists, so he figured he would just… do it when he got to school. He had a few minutes to spare, and hopefully, this would be enough to figure out how to handle it.

So, the teen got the books he needed, and walked in the direction of his classroom. There was a bathroom nearby which he would use. He had this all worked out.

Once he made it to the toilets, Roman put down his bag and made sure no one could see him as he pulled a few bandages out of nowhere. The evening before, he had figured out a way to bandage his wrists without needing to ask for help.

He put the bandage down on the sink and gently placed his wrist down on the bandage, using his other hand to wrap it around his wrist. After making sure it wasn’t too tight, the teen kept it in place with his powers, summoning some bandage tape to keep it all together. Again, he made sure no one could see him before he repeated the same thing with his other wrist. He was lucky enough that no one walked in on this pretty obvious display of powers.

When he was done, Roman pulled the sleeves of his red jacket down, so they covered his wrists, and he got his bag again, making his way to his classroom. There still was a vague, annoying pain in his wrists that had come up since the wounds were inflicted, and had yet to go away. It was quite bothersome, but at least it was easy to deal with. At least Roman could bite it away and hide it for the most part. He didn’t exactly want any questions about the burns.

When he got to his classroom, the teen noticed that the door had been opened and the students trickled in, so Roman quickly followed, taking his regular seat next to Patton as he waited for the class to begin.

Math was horrible, as always, but luckily, Roman’s next class was chemistry. He usually didn’t look forwards to it _ this _ much. It was a fun subject, but never _ that much _fun. But now- well… they were going to work on the project. Which meant he got to talk to Virgil. And yeah, it made his way-too-gay heart beat like crazy, but… in a good way. He just wanted to take this chance to get closer to Virgil, because he just seemed like a cool guy.

So, he sat down in his usual spot, playing around on his phone, reblogging a few Tumblr posts while waiting for class to start, not really paying much attention to anyone.

“Can I- eh, sit here?” Roman looked up at the voice. He had barely noticed that anyone had walked up to him, and it startled him slightly. His eyes locked with Virgil’s dark brown ones, and he smiled, nodding his head.

“Of course! Sit down!” he told the other. “No one usually sits here, so… go ahead.”

Virgil gave him a small smile – and oh my goodness, it was so adorable, why was he so _ cute _? – and sat down next to Roman.

“What happened to your eye?” Virgil asked carefully, as if he was afraid to offend Roman, or say something stupid.

“Oh- it was an accident, nothing bad happened,” Roman quickly reassured him. “Someone accidentally punched me during training last night, but it’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Roman hummed with a nod. “Totally. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten injured during training, don’t worry.”

“That’s probably the worst thing to say if you don’t want me to worry,” Virgil retorted with a careful smile. Roman laughed at the comment and nodded.

“You might have a point. But I can handle it, trust me.”

“If you say so…”

They stopped talking as Roman put away his phone. The bell rang not much later and Macauley started the class with a brief introduction and the announcement that the students had the time to work on their projects for the rest of their class. And that was… pretty much it. 

So as soon as Logan had finished, the students all did whatever they wanted to. Some went straight to the labs to try something, while some went to go to the library or stayed in the classroom to discuss their options. And Roman and Virgil were a part of this last group.

They had texted a few times, bringing up possible things they could do, but they hadn’t yet managed to find one thing they wanted to go with.

As this all happened, Macauley stayed behind his desk, seemingly sketching something. However, whenever a student came up to him, or called his name, he would cease his movements and help them in whatever way they needed. And that’s how it went for… pretty much the entire period.

As the class progressed, it was clear that the students slowly lost their focus. The odd thing is that Logan didn’t even try to get them to focus on their project. He was too busy focussing on the work before him.

Roman and Virgil admittedly lost their focus, and eventually gave up their discussion and just started talking about… anything. Virgil was actually a really cool guy to talk to – not that Roman would have guessed any differently.

But there was one thing that caught Roman’s attention. Two classmates – Emile and Alex-Jane – were talking about what happened last night between Creativity and his unknown enemy. But that wasn’t what caught his attention, after all, he had heard it all before. No, what really caught his attention, was the name they used for the mysterious villain.

“Wait, wait, what did you say?” he asked, leaning forwards in his seat.

Emile turned around, looking up from the doodle he was absentmindedly drawing on the table as he faced Roman. “Well- I saw a video of Creativity last night, fighting this one guy-”

“I saw that,” Roman nodded, “but the other guy... what did you call them?”

“Hellfire?” he asked. “I don’t know, it’s a name someone used for them online, and it sounds pretty badass, so…”

“Hellfire,” the other teen repeated slowly. “Yeah… it does sound badass. Good Disney reference.” Also pretty fitting for a murderer, he added in his head.

“What are they, really?” Alex-Jane wondered out loud. “Like- what are their powers? The video was way too vague and shaky to see anything.”

“I thought it was something to do with fire?” Emile responded.

Roman nodded. “Yeah, they found that banker with burns all over his body, right?” He bit the inside of his lip as he remembered the man’s screams. God- if only he could have saved him. He should have saved him. He was _ there _. He should have done something.

With a shake of his head, Roman forced himself back into the conversation, ignoring the look Virgil gave him. 

The others mumbled some agreements – as well as a few other students who stopped to listen to their conversation. But Alex-Jane still wasn’t convinced. “That’s what I read online,” they retorted, “but… it didn’t look like it? Where was the fire? I just- I don’t see it.”

“It’s like- blue fire, right?” Virgil suggested hesitantly. He played with the sleeve of his hoodie as he spoke. “Or purple. Something like that.”

“I think so,” Emile agreed. Roman nodded too, but didn’t speak up. He didn’t know what was common knowledge, and he didn’t want to blow his cover. “You can see some blue, purple-ish sparks in the video. It’s just a little vague because it’s all the way up on the roof of a building, but it’s there.”

“Yeah,” Roman joined in, just so he could have something to say as well. “You can definitely see something there.”

“If you say so,” Alex-Jane shrugged. They still didn’t fully believe the others, but if everyone told them otherwise… there had to be some truth there. “It does sound pretty badass, if you ask me. Blue fire? Like- hell yeah, sign me up.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “You know they’re a murderer, right?”

“So? That doesn’t mean they can’t be badass! It’s just… a good aesthetic, okay?”

“I guess,” the teen responded to his classmate. “But still… they’re a villain.” And they killed someone. They murdered someone. And Roman didn’t stop it.

“I mean…” Kai, who had listened in to their conversation joined in, “they killed Cooper, he’s a villain too.”

“But they still _ killed _him,” Roman defended, “that still makes them a murderer. And even if their victim was a corrupt asshole. It doesn’t change the fact that they killed someone! It doesn’t justify it!”

Was he actually having this discussion? Did he actually have to explain to this guy that murder was _ bad _, no matter the victim?

“He had it coming, is all I’m saying.”

“He was on trial. He should have been sent to jail to serve his time. Not killed. Yes, he might have been bad, but this isn’t justice! Criminal or not, he shouldn’t have been killed.”

A few fellow students hummed in agreement, and a couple frowned in disagreement, but before anyone could intervene, Macauley spoke up.

“Unless this is a part of your project, I suggest you finish this discussion after class,” he told them, finally closing the notebook in front of him. He eyed the students, his gaze lingering on the quartet in the back of the room just a little bit longer, before he turned back to his own work.

Roman rolled his eyes as Alex-Jane and Emile turned around in their seats again. Of course he’d choose to stop them _ just _as things were getting interesting. As interesting as a discussion about a murderer could get, at least.

However, the students still went to their work, discussing just a few more options for their projects, until the class ended. 

As soon as the bell rang, everyone packed up their stuff as quickly as they could, so they could go on to their next class. Virgil was soon ready, and about to leave, but Roman stopped him. 

“Hey, you wanna… I don’t know… join us for lunch? I never really see you around, so I- I thought... It’s okay if you don’t but...“ Roman hated how he stumbled over his own words. He wasn’t usually like this, but Virgil just had that effect on him, apparently. He just turned into a stuttering, insecure mess around him.

“No- no, I appreciate the offer, but…” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, not looking at Roman as he continued. “I don’t… It’s sweet but…”

“Is that a no?” Roman asked softly, looking at his crush as he got up, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. “It’s okay if it is.”

“Yeah,” the other nodded. “I’m sorry, I just… don’t like the crowd in the cafeteria, so I don’t…”

Roman tried his best to reassure Virgil with a gentle smile. “I understand, don’t worry.”

“It- It’s not that I don’t want to, though, really. It’s just… I don’t know.”

“Virgil?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s fine. I promise. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

Virgil scoffed as they finally left the classroom. “I’ll try my best.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Fighting, mentions of minor character death, burning, injuries, I think that's all, let me know if I missed something!

In the few weeks that followed, Virgil and Roman grew closer. They started texting more, and not just about project-related stuff. And here, the impossible happened; Roman got even gayer. Virgil was just… so sweet, and funny, and  _ cute _ ! It was impossible not to fall for him. 

They even met up outside school. For hanging out purposes, instead of for the project, and Roman was absolutely ecstatic about this fact. 

Well… except for right now. 

No, right now, he was panicking as he ran up the stairs to the roof of his apartment building, praying that Virgil would answer his call. It was late in the afternoon on a Saturday, and the two had arranged to meet up later that day. Roman’s mom was out with Sophie and a few of her friends, which meant that he had the apartment to himself, which he had thought ideal. 

But  _ no _ . Because apparently, Hellfire had thought this was the best time to show up again. After weeks of absence, they chose  _ this  _ moment to strike again. 

It was a mere coincidence that Roman saw something about it. He was checking on his social media when he saw people tweeting about how Hellfire had invaded the headquarters of Rant-In, a big company in technology. As soon as he saw the tweets, he knew he had to be there. It was his job to protect the town, after all. He reasoned that, if he went as quickly as he could, he could be there in about fifteen minutes. He doubted that it was enough to save whoever Hellfire had their eyes on, but he had to at least try it. He couldn’t let someone else die.

Roman opened the door leading onto the roof, and snapped his fingers, changing into his hero outfit. Just as he had summoned a grappling hook to transport him to the next roof, Virgil picked up. 

“Hey,” he answered softly, “what’s up?”

“I’m sorry,” Roman responded as he jumped down, holding the phone tightly as he swung through the air. “I can’t make it today, I- my sister is sick, and I… I need to help my mom. I’m so sorry.”

He huffed softly as he jumped onto the next roof and ran on, hardly taking a moment to breathe. 

“Oh, that- that’s okay, Ro,” Virgil told him. “Don’t worry about it- are you running?”

“Yeah,” the hero said, speeding up a bit. “I’m in the centre. It’s chaos down here. Something with Hellfire, I think.”

“Really? Shit, dude. You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m… alright,” Roman nodded, “just trying to get away before shit goes down. I gotta go. Talk to you later, okay?”

“Of course,” Virgil answered. “See you later. Stay safe.”

Roman repressed a snort as he jumped to the next roof. “Will do. See you, Virge.”

He ended the call and took a moment to hide his phone in his golden boot, before continuing his race to Rant-In. It wasn’t difficult to find it, as the streets below him got more and more crowded the closer he got to his destination. He just had to follow the chaos. 

Even though his condition was quite well, he felt himself getting more tired as he ran on. Just a bit more, he kept telling himself.  _ Just a bit more _ . He couldn’t slow down now. He needed to prevent Hellfire from killing whoever they wanted to kill. 

Finally, he saw the big, green logo that belonged to Rant-In. It was absolutely hideous, but Rant-In kept it around anyway. He didn’t understand why. 

Roman attached the grappling hook to the side of the building he was on, and let himself down. Then, all that was left, was pushing himself through the crowd that welcomed him with loud cheers as he approached the large building. 

Okay. He was in. Now to find Hellfire.

It turned out that it wasn’t hard to find his enemy. Even before he was inside, Roman could see his nemesis’ blue flames through the window of the second floor. Two more staircases? Oh, what the hell. He’d come so far already. He could do two stairs. 

The teen ran as fast as he could, running towards the staircase as soon as he saw it, and taking two steps at the time as he rushed up. In no time, he was on the second floor. Now he just needed to find the room where his enemy was hiding. 

Roman didn’t want to admit it, but the stairs had been more exhausting than he could let on. He needed to save people here, there was no time to be out of breath. 

It was suspiciously calm as he made his way through the hall. Which made sense. Why would anyone want to stay in a building with a fire-wielding, killing, maniac? Of course everyone ran out. 

After having checked a few rooms, with no result, Roman heard voices coming from behind a door. One seemed to be a female voice. The other was definitely Hellfire’s. No one had a distorted voice like theirs. Roman smirked as he summoned his sword, kicking open the door. 

Before him, he saw a large conference room. Hellfire was stood in front of the long table in the middle of the room. Next to them, Roman could see two bodies - that were certainly very dead. In front of them, there were two more people. Someone he recognized as Sarah Miller, the CEO of the place, and another guy he didn’t recognize. Both of them were clearly terrified - and rightfully so. 

“Being a murderer was too boring for you, Azula?” Roman commented, trying not to show just how much the sight of the two burned bodies disgusted and horrified him. “Wanted to be a mass murderer now?”

He noticed Hellfire had added a few upgrades to their suit, specifically their arms. Roman had no idea what those things would do, and he didn’t know if he wanted to find out. Regardless, he swung his sword through the air as he stepped closer. 

“Look, dude, this is- pretty extreme,” he continued. Hellfire looked at him, not impressed. “You don’t have to do this.”

He needed to get an opening. He needed to get Sarah and the other out of here, he needed to create a distraction so that they could run around the table and out of the room. But how? 

Without a second thought, the teen jumped onto the table, his sword pointed at Hellfire. 

“So what, I should let them go?” Hellfire scoffed, taking a small step back so they could look at Roman, though the latter noticed they were tense. He needed to stay on guard, as they could strike any moment. 

“For example.”

His nemesis seemed to think for a moment, and Roman narrowed his eyes. They were trying to get him off guard, so they could attack. He just  _ knew  _ it. Something was going to happen soon. 

“No,” they concluded with a shake of their head. In the blink of an eye, they summoned a blue ball of fire and shot it at the guy next to Sarah. Roman shook his head and tried to block the flames, but he was too late. Screaming filled the room and the teen hero flinched as he jumped off the table. He couldn’t let someone die again. He had to save them. Without a second thought, he summoned a fire blanket and wrapped it half around the guy, gesturing for Sarah to take care of it. 

“Leave whenever you can,” he whispered to her. “I’ll try to create an opening.”

She nodded as she wrapped the blanket around her companion, keeping him close. Roman turned around, satisfied, until he was faced with the sight of his enemy, standing on the table, where he once stood himself. They loomed above him, looking right at him. 

“Can’t we like… talk about it?” he tried, taking a step back in surprise. “One guy to… another?” God, he had to get himself together. There were lives on the line here. 

“Well,” Hellfire deadpanned, crossing their arms. “I’m listening.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. What were they planning here? Surely, they wouldn’t actually let him talk, unless they had a plan, right? “Murder is bad,” he stated blankly. “Don’t do it.”

As he spoke, he took a few steps to the side, drawing Hellfire’s gaze away from Sarah and the guy. From the corner of his eyes, he saw them scooting to the side, unseen by the villain. Good. They were a bit closer to safety, then. 

“Nice try,” Hellfire smirked as they stepped closer to Roman, who saw his own number of escape routes diminishing. Behind him, there were only windows. In front of him, there was Hellfire. If something happened, he couldn’t easily get out. He would have to fight his way out. 

He glanced at the two hostages once more. They were almost clear to make a break for it. Hellfire had their back turned on them now. Just one distraction… 

This might be his death. This might be the last thing he’d ever do. But if it would save two lives, it would be worth it. 

Roman summoned another sword identical to his other one and jumped at Hellfire, who blocked his hits with the armour on their arms, just like Roman had expected. Luckily, he was quite agile and he managed to kick at Hellfire’s legs, causing them to fall back onto the table. As he saw the two hostages scrambling away, Creativity jumped on a chair, only to continue on to the table. He pinned Hellfire beneath him, pressing the two swords to their throat. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” Roman smirked. He made the most recent sword disappear, making place in his hands for a set of custom made handcuffs, which he hoped to use on Hellfire, so they wouldn’t be able to use their powers against him. 

However, in the fraction of a second that he faltered, the villain saw their opportunity and grabbed Roman’s arm holding the sword, twisting it into a painful position. The hero winced and his enemy used this moment to flip their positions, which caused them to fall off the table. Most of the chairs had been shoved aside, which Roman was grateful for, though his still hit his shoulder and the side of his head on one of the chairs as he fell down. 

“I could say the same to you,” Hellfire retorted, grabbing Roman’s throat with one hand. Their other arm pushed his shoulder down as Roman tried to fight their grip. With one of his hands, the teen summoned the sword that had been knocked out of his hand when they fell down, but Hellfire interrupted before he could grab it, pushing their knee down on the blade. “Nice try.”

Roman grimaced and created another sword. “I could say the same to you,” he choked out, before attempting to hit his enemy with his weapon. However, he was in an extremely uncomfortable position, unfit to get a good hit in on his opponent, and Hellfire was  _ strong.  _

The next thing he knew, he was lifted off the ground and pushed into a window. Well… at least he had more room to move, now. The hero tried everything he could. He tried striking his nemesis with his sword, but they caught his wrist. He tried kicking them, but it failed. He tried prying their hand away, but they were too strong. And on top of that, his air supply was being cut off and breathing was becoming more and more difficult. Just a few more seconds, and he feared that he would black out. 

The sensation of glass pushing against his back disappeared for a second, but it was replaced by something way more uncomfortable. 

The sensation of flying through the air. 

The sensation of glass cutting through his skin and the fabric of his suit.

The sensation of falling. 

The shocked gasps of people on the ground below. 

He was falling. Oh God, he was falling. 

He didn’t have long to act. 

Despite his panic, Roman tried to slow his fall by using his telekinesis on himself. With a lot of focus, it worked, to some extent. He kind of managed to slow his speed down, so that at least, he didn’t break anything when he hit the ground. But it still hurt.

When Roman hit the ground, his back first he could just  _ feel  _ that this would leave its marks the next day. Bruises, scrapes, small cuts. Great. He’d have to think of an excuse for that. 

Roman pushed himself up, wincing at the pain that shot through his body, and he looked up. He saw Hellfire looking back at him for a fraction of a second, before they turned around, disappearing from anyone’s view. 

At that moment, the teen became aware of the crowd that had gathered around him. Dozens of people who wanted to know what had happened, if he was okay, what Hellfire had done. And Roman let people help him up, he thanked them, reassured them that he was alright. But he refused to answer any other questions. Luckily, people seemed to be understanding of this. 

“Tell the cops there’s people up there,” he told a duo close to him. “Hellfire killed them. And call an ambulance if you haven’t already. I need to go.”

Roman snapped his fingers, making the sword in the conference room disappear before he walked off. It took him more effort than he would care to admit, and it hurt way more than he showed the civilians around him. He didn’t want to show them how hurt he was, and how difficult it was to walk. He just… walked off, as if nothing had happened. 

“Wait!” A female voice stopped him and the hero turned around, seeing Sarah Miller and the man walking up to him - the man still clutched onto the fire blanket. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Roman told her, giving her a polite smile. “It’s what I do. I couldn’t let you two die there. How are you doing?”

The question was mainly aimed at the man next to her, who had gotten burned after all. He told him in a low voice that he was doing alright, and Sarah said the same. 

“A little shaken up, is all,” she told him. “Thank you for saving us.”

“Of course,” Roman nodded. “I’m-” He recalled the memory of the two burned bodies on the floor when he walked in. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier.”

Sarah smiled sadly, clearly thinking of the same thing as the teen hero. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

He didn’t look at her, or the man. “Guess you’re right.” He still felt bad, though. Luckily, he didn’t have to say anything else, as the ambulance arrived, sirens blaring loudly. “I think you might wanna go there,” he smiled, pointing at the ambulance as he took a few steps back. 

“Shouldn’t  _ you _ ?” Sarah asked. “You made quite a fall back there.”

“And reveal my identity?” Roman countered. “No can do, ma’am, I think I’ll be fine. Bruises, at the very least. I’ve dealt with worse. But thank you for your concern.”

He gave them a half wave as he moved away, and he couldn’t stop himself from wondering  _ why  _ Hellfire wanted them dead. They seemed nice enough, but surely, they would have done something wrong? Unless it was a total coincidence that their first victim was a criminal. 

He shook his head and walked away, finding the best spot to change into his regular outfit, before going home. 

When he did finally walk back into his apartment, Roman finally allowed himself to accept just how much he was hurting. He wouldn’t be surprised if his entire back and side were bruised from the impact of the fall. Luckily, his suit managed to hold back most of the smaller shards of glass, though a few of the bigger ones found their way into his skin nonetheless. He pulled them out with a pair of tweezers - and that  _ hurt _ \- and put a band-aid on the biggest wounds. Like he had predicted, bruises were already starting to form on his shoulders and side. Probably on his back as well, but he couldn’t see that. There were a few scrapes here and there, but otherwise, he was okay. In pain, but… okay. Relatively okay. It could have been worse, at least. At least he didn’t get burned again. At least he wasn’t dead.

Roman sat down and finally got out his phone, for the first time since he came back. He cursed softly as he saw that the screen was cracked. It was only a small crack in the corner of the screen, but still horribly annoying. That’s what he got for taking his phone with him into a fight, it would seem. 

His mom had texted him, saying that she and Sophie would be home late, as they had decided to eat something on their way home. Which meant he could order something, as he wasn’t that great a cook yet. The teen typed out a quick response, before ordering a pizza. He deserved that, after the fight today. He hadn’t done much, but it had hurt, and that was enough. He ordered some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with it, as a dessert. Again, he deserved it.

When all of that had been done, Roman decided he needed to take a shower. He got up, stretched his arms a bit - big mistake on his part, as his shoulders were still very much sore - and walked upstairs, grabbing a change of clothes before taking a quick shower. 

He changed into sweatpants and a slightly oversized shirt - way more comfortable than his skinny jeans - and walked downstairs, falling down on the couch. Again, that was a big mistake, as he was still  _ sore _ . He’d have to get used to this. And he still had to go to training tonight? No way. He would actually die if he attended training tonight. He’d just… tell his mom it was cancelled and stay home tonight. If he went to training in this state… he feared he wouldn’t be able to move a single muscle in the days after this. Surely, missing one training wouldn’t kill anyone. 

There was one thing Roman couldn’t get out of his head, though. The vision of Hellfire standing in front of the window, when he was laying on the ground outside. They looked at him, and turned away. But why didn’t they kill him? They could have easily killed him before he got up. Was their moral code that strong? Did they refuse to kill anyone who, in their opinion, hadn’t done something wrong? It felt weird to Roman, almost paradoxical. They had killed people, they were a criminal. And yet… they spared his life? They saw him laying there and… didn’t do anything. It still didn’t fully make sense to him, if he was being honest. But… he was alive. And so, he wasn’t complaining. 

Roman had just finished his pizza, and he had decided to take just a bit of his ice cream, when his mom and sister came home. 

“Hey, Ro,” Megan smiled as Sophie flung herself at the couch - gratefully choosing to cuddle up to her older brother, instead of ambushing him with a hug. “I thought you were hanging out with- Virgil? Is that the one?”

Roman nodded, putting the ice cream down on the small table next to the couch, so he could wrap one of his arms around Sophie, trying not to flinch at the pain that shot through his upper arm at the movement. “I was,” he lied without batting an eye. “But he had to go home around dinner, so… yeah, he left.”

“Had a good time, though?”

“Sure did,” the teen said, looking down at his little sister. “How about you guys?”

Sophie took this as an invitation to go on an enthusiastic ramble about their day at the attraction park. Megan chuckled as she picked up the cup of ice cream Roman had left on the small coffee table and took it to the kitchen, cleaning it up before it could melt - because she knew that this could take… a while. Sophie was- quite talkative. Especially when it came to something she was enthusiastic about. Like today. 

Roman patiently listened to her talking about what she had done that day, adoring every single second of it. It was so adorable to see how excited she got recounting the events of that day. She was the cutest. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of a dragon, unhealthy… work ethic?, pushing oneself

Two days later, it was time for school again. And Roman… he was not looking forwards to it. He was still sore, and his shoulders were bruised. Carrying his bag would be a pain in the ass - or in the shoulder, really. Not to mention that he wasn’t able to think of an excuse that would be good enough to convince Patton. Yes, he could blame it on training, but… he wasn’t sure if it would suffice. Maybe he should just hide it. The tiny cuts and scrapes on his hands could easily be explained by him tripping. It was his luck that Patton was able to borrow his mother’s car for today, so they wouldn’t have to take the bus to school. At least that was… something. 

Patton had texted him that he was leaving, which meant he would be here in a few minutes. So, time to get ready. Putting on his shoes was bad enough, Roman had to bend forwards in a way that hurt the few bruises and some of the bigger cuts on his back, but he… he managed. With a slight wince, the teen swung the bag over his shoulder, called out to his mom that he was leaving, and walked outside, where his friend was already waiting. 

With a smile, Roman jogged up to the blue car, ignoring the bag that, very annoyingly, bumped against a bandaged cut with every movement. Great. This was just going to be… great. 

“Hey Pat,” Roman grinned as he slid into the seat next to his best friend. “Long time no see, huh?”

Patton made a face as he started the car again. “Not long enough,” he muttered jokingly. 

“Excuse me?” the other gasped, faking offense. “How dare you?”

Patton shook his head with a chuckle, very wisely keeping his eyes on the road. 

“I thought we were  _ friends _ , Pat.”

“I never said we weren’t,” his friend pointed out with a quick wink.

Roman huffed as he crossed his arms, trying to hold back a smile. Which succeeded only partially. “Whatever.”

Patton laughed as he spared his friend a quick glance, before turning his attention back to the road. “You know I love you, Ro.”

“Ugh, I do,” he sighed dramatically. “And I love you too.”

After a minute or ten, Patton pulled up in front of the school, finding a parking spot after only minimal time spent searching. He stopped the car, and the two teens got out. A bunch of freshmen were talking loudly as they ran towards the school, which was pretty much the only source of noise at that moment, next to the sounds of cars driving by. Roman took a deep breath. It was cool outside, but not  _ cold _ . It was a pretty nice temperature, actually. Warm enough to be outside without freezing, but not so warm that you’re dehydrated after five seconds in the sun. If you asked Roman, this was the perfect temperature. Especially for Creativity-stuff. The suit was like a sauna in summer. Not a fun experience. This didn’t mean that Roman wouldn’t fight if he had to, but he didn’t  _ love  _ it. Luckily, he still had a few months until it came to that point. It was March, spring was about to start, so there was at least three months until summer. Hopefully, he would be able to catch Hellfire before then. He couldn’t imagine fighting them in the heat would be very… fun. 

Shaking his head, the teen followed his friend into the school, trying to ignore the ache caused by his bag banging against the injuries of his bag. But… well, he had to deal with this all day. Might as well get used to it. 

For most of the day, Roman had troubles sitting comfortably. On top of that, his mind kept wandering. He kept trying to think of a way to outsmart Hellfire. They were bigger, better and stronger than he was, so defeating them in a fair fight would be difficult. He had to find some sort of tactic to defeat them. Or maybe he would just have to train, get better at fighting. Maybe that was the way to go. He didn’t know. 

People noticed, though. He kept zoning out, and people kept addressing him, trying to snap him out of it. But no matter how much he tried, he never seemed to be able to pay attention. School seemed so…  _ dull  _ compared to the superhero stuff he had gotten himself into. I mean- who cares about equations and literature when you could be out, saving the world? 

He couldn’t help but think if he would be able to make a deal to get out of school if he revealed his identity. 

“Roman, are you… good?” Virgil asked, catching up to the other guy as he walked out of their English class. “You’ve been... absent. Even for you.”

“What? I- yeah,” Roman responded with a slight nod, “yeah, I’m good, don’t worry.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You sound… well… absent, I guess.”

“No, no, I’m fine, I just… have a lot on my mind, right now.” 

Roman considered to drop by his locker, but decided against it. He had lunch break, with chemistry right after it. For chemistry, they would likely be working on their projects. Sometimes, Macauley would give them some notes on a subject, but they were given a lot of time to work on their project, as it was supposed to be something  _ big _ . It had to be done in two weeks, and their teacher took this into account. So it wasn’t likely that Roman needed his books. 

“Anyway,” he quickly changed the subject. “I know you don’t like crowds and all, but you really don’t want to sit with us during lunch? I want you to meet Patton. He’s awesome.”

“I-”

“You don’t have to, though!” Roman rushed to add, afraid to push Virgil. “I just… wanted to try. But you don’t have to. I can find another way to introduce you.”

“That would be- yeah, I… think that’s better,” Virgil nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Roman looked at Virgil, slowing down as they approached the cafeteria. “Don’t worry about it. I understand it. It’s okay. I’ll see you in chemistry, then?”

Virgil answered with another nod. “I- yeah. See you there.” He shot Roman a quick smile as he walked away. Roman wondered where to. But it wasn’t important. He shook his head and turned around, walking into the cafeteria so he could find Patton. 

Patton had already found them a place near the back of the cafeteria, and it didn’t take his best friend very long to find him there. Roman shot him a grin as he sat down next to him. 

“Sup,” he greeted his friend with fingerguns. 

“Sup,” Patton laughed in response. “Did I see you talking to Virgil over there?”

Roman rolled his eyes, but nodded. “We’ve been talking for the past few weeks, Pat, catch up,” he teased, gently nudging his friend.

Despite Patton being well aware of Roman and Virgil growing closer - because obviously Roman had to ramble about this every once in a while - he kept teasing Roman with it. Because Roman was way too fun to tease. 

“Oh, that’s right!” he gasped. “You were going to hang out this weekend, right? How did it go? Any developments?”

Roman shook his head, not looking at Patton as he responded. “No, I… I- eh cancelled.”

“What?” Patton tilted his head, giving his friend a confused frown. “Why?”

“I… got cold feet,” the other lied, still avoiding his friend’s gaze. Lying to Patton was probably one of the worst things ever, and he  _ hated  _ doing this. But it was for everyone’s safety, right? “It was just… spooky, so I- cancelled.”

“Aw Ro,” his friend said, his voice strangely reminiscent of a whining puppy. “But I thought you were looking forwards to it?”

“I  _ was _ ! Virgil’s a fun guy, and I like talking to him, and I was looking forwards to it, but it just… I don’t know. I’m an idiot, okay?”

Patton gave Roman a stern look. “Easy there, buddy,” he said in a dad voice. “That’s my best friend you’re talking about.”

Roman shook his head with a chuckle. “You,” he started, pointing at Patton, “are a dork.”

As a response, Patton shrugged proudly. “I know.”

After school, Roman considered staying out to patrol the city a bit, but he quickly decided against it. He was way too sore to kick ass today, no matter how much he  _ hated  _ that. So he just let Patton drop him off at his house, and went straight inside. For the first time in what must have been… weeks. 

His mom was out, picking up Sophie - knowing her, she was still at school, talking to a few other moms. It was rare for him to be home this early, and he was certain his mom and sister would be surprised to see him here. But no matter how much he appreciated being home, spending time with his family, there was nowhere he would rather be than outside, keeping an eye on the city. He felt useless if he wasn’t spending as much time as possible doing that exact thing, but he knew he was hurting too much to do anything right now. He would get his ass kicked if he even tried to confront anyone right now. No, he would have to wait- at least for a few days. 

Roman had just made himself some tea, when he heard the front door opening. Soft voices in the hallway, and a few seconds later, Sophie and Megan entered the living room. 

“Roman!” Megan smiled as she saw her son sitting on the couch. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

The teen chuckled, spreading his arms in a big gesture. “Surprise.”

“Roro, you’re home!” Sophie grinned as she fell down on the couch next to her brother. “Why don’t you do that more often?”

“You know, that’s a good question, Mini-Me,” he told her, placing his mug on the table. “I’m just… a busy guy. Got a lot of homework and… stuff to do.”

Sophie furrowed her brows. “Stuff?”

Roman nodded. “Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“A teenage boy like me needs to have some secrets, Soph,” he told her gently. “But I may tell you when you’re a little older.”

He wasn’t a complete idiot. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide this secret identity forever. If he kept this gig up for as long as he intended to - which was pretty much as long as he was able to - someone was bound to find out. Especially his family, and especially his little sister. She was smart, curious, and asked a lot of questions. And that… was tricky. One day, she would put all his evasive answers together and notice something. Inconsistencies. Or consistencies. Things he repeatedly hid or avoided. And she would notice something was wrong, and inevitably ask even  _ more  _ questions. 

His mom was tricky too, but she asked way less questions than Sophie. She could see it when her son was hiding something, and knew whether to ask more questions or not. There would be a time when Roman’s secrecy would be  _ too much _ for her, and she would start asking the trickier questions as well, but that time was not now. Right now, he was safe. 

Sophie huffed. “Fine,” she answered with a soft pout that made her brother chuckle. 

“Patience, little one.”

Megan smiled as she sat down on a chair, not far away from her kids. “How was your day at school, Ro?”

“It was… alright?” he shrugged. “Nothing too special. Virgil and I nearly finished the project, so that’s fun. We started on the presentation as well.”

“So, you and Virgil, huh?”

Roman raised an eyebrow as he looked at his smirking mother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing going on between you two?”

“Except for the project we’re both working on? No way,” he scoffed, quickly taking a sip of his tea. Was this his mom being her typical, teasing self, or was his gayness  _ that  _ clear? He hoped it was the former, because he might die of embarrassment if it was the latter. Also because the latter option might raise more questions. The question of who else would know about his crush, for example. 

Megan hummed, giving her son a teasing look, which he ignored. He didn’t really want to… deal with this right now. Or anything, really. He felt like he was wasting time by sitting here and  _ not  _ working on a way to bring Hellfire down. It was nonsense, of course. Quality time with your family was just as essential, and he needed to give himself some time to relax and to unwind. But the nagging feeling remained. He felt like he was the one responsible for the fate of all Hellfire’s future targets.  _ He  _ was the one who needed to protect them, to make sure they wouldn’t get killed. No other hero-type person had revealed themselves yet, which made this town Creativity’s responsibility. He needed to take care of Hellfire. And he felt like he was wasting time by not spending his free time on that responsibility. He hated that feeling. 

Just as Roman wanted to grab his phone, Sophie gently pulled on the sleeve of his shirt. “Roro?”

“Yeah? What’s up, pipsqueak?”

“Can you continue your story tonight?” she asked, giving her brother a hopeful smile. “About the princesses?”

“Ah, of course!” he nodded eagerly. “Anything for you.”

Sophie grinned, content with this answer, and hugged her brother tightly. Roman tensed up when she did, feeling a few of his injuries play up as she put pressure on them, but he didn’t show it. He could deal with this. At least he hadn’t broken any ribs, or he would drop dead right this instant. 

That evening, the family went through the same routine of Megan going upstairs with Sophie and calling Roman when his sister was ready to hear his story. He went upstairs and told her the tale about the gay princess-knights, who were now faced with this incredible, huge dragon. (The dragon might have been as black as the night, and its flames might have been blue, but there was no way that it was inspired by real life. At all. Stop suggesting that.)

Of course, the princesses showed no fear, but they made a plan to draw the dragon out of its hiding place, out into the open. When they saw an opening, the princesses attacked, outsmarting the dragon easily. The fight wasn’t easy, but they won. Eventually, the dragon collapsed and the country was saved from its terror. Exhausted and worn out, the princesses headed back to their home, to announce the dragon’s demise. 

And that was the end. They lived gayly ever after. Until the next story. 

“That was awesome,” Sophie grinned widely when Roman had finished it, hugging her stuffed cat close. 

“Why, thank you,” Roman answered, with a small bow that made Sophie laugh. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” 

“Can you tell me more?”

Roman chuckled, ruffling his younger sister’s hair. “No can do, Soph. You need to sleep.”

“No, I don’t.”

The teen got up, looking at Sophie. “Good night, Soph,” he smiled fondly, heading for the door. 

Sophie huffed softly, hugging her cat close. “Good night,” she finally mumbled as her brother left the room, closing the door behind him. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: skipping class, mentions of (sword) fighting

Roman wasn’t exaggerating when he said that he had never dreaded a school day any more than he had dreaded this Wednesday. His injuries still hurt, especially his back - unsurprising considering he had made a pretty big fall, despite the fact he had managed to reduce the impact with his telekinesis - and he had PE that day. Well… that was not going to happen, so he had to find some sort of excuse. There was no way that he was going to survive whatever it was they would do. The big issue was trying to find a good enough excuse to get out of class. It was his last class of the day, so maybe he could just skip it. Maybe he could say he had somewhere to be, or call in sick. Or he could forge a note? It wouldn’t be that hard to recreate his mother’s handwriting and signature with a little bit of magic. The only problem was… trying to find an excuse. He doubted that they would accept merely his bruises as a valid excuse to miss class, so he had to find something else. The only problem was, that if he pretended to be hurt now, he would have to keep that up for at least a few days. And on top of that, it would result in questions from his friends. Skipping it might result in detention, but… it was worth it. He’d rather have detention than be in pain in PE. Yeah- he was gonna skip it. One time wouldn’t hurt, right? He got more than enough exercise anyway.

Okay- maybe it was a little big exaggerated to say that he _ dreaded _ this school day. He dreaded PE, but the other classes he had were okay. Especially creative writing, which was probably his favourite class. I mean- come on, it was _ writing _. He wrote all the time! He made stories for his little sister in his free time - stories he hoped to publish one day. This class was perfect for him! So this day wasn’t all that bad. Roman was just being dramatic. As always. 

PE was a class he shared with Patton, and Roman _ was _ going to inform his friend about his planned absence during the final class. But during lunch… he decided against it. He knew Patton would ask questions, and he didn’t have answers. Patton would ask him about it tomorrow, that for sure, but he would have time to prepare for that, at least. Or maybe Patton would text him. He _ hoped _ Patton wouldn’t leave this as an issue to discuss in real life and just text him about it. Because in that case, it would be way easier for Roman to lie to him about it. He wasn’t a great liar. Which was kind of a bother, considering he _ literally _had a superhero identity to hide. He had to lie pretty much all the time. 

But anyway- back to skipping school. The gym was in a separate building, so sneaking out was quite easy. Before PE, Roman had history; a subject he luckily didn’t share with Patton. Which meant that he wouldn’t have to make up an excuse to his best friend. He could just stall a bit, maybe hide in the bathroom for a minute, and walk out. He’d deal with Patton’s questions later, but that was an issue for Future-Roman. Present-Roman had to focus on getting out of school without getting seen by classmates and raising more questions. 

As it turned out, that issue was simply solved by… walking out of the school. Literally no one even looked at him. His classmates were already inside the gym, so they didn’t see him and no one else had a reason to suspect him. So that was good. 

Now he just had to… entertain himself for a little under two hours. Without running into his mom. Now, that last bit wasn’t an issue. She would be working for a bit, until she had to pick Sophie up from school, which was in a little less than two hours. And on top of that, Roman had the powers to conjure up nearly anything he wanted, and he had the ability to go up to some of the highest points in town. Which was exactly where he was headed now. 

After he had made sure no one could see him, Roman created a grappling hook to transport him to the roof of the highest building, giving him a gorgeous view of the city. With a content smile, the teen sat down, just enjoying the wind blowing through his hair and the mild temperature. The weather was absolutely perfect. And as he looked over the town, he could just _ feel _ the inspiration. He got his bag and searched for the small sketchbook he always kept with him. He wouldn’t say he was the _ best _ artist, but he was definitely moderately good at least, and drawing was something he really enjoyed as well. And the view was absolutely gorgeous! He just _ had _to draw it. 

Next thing, he grabbed his phone and headphones to put up some music, for the mood. The whole scene was just so… calming. And enjoyable. He should do this more often. Just… relaxing. Not doing anything. 

The two hours passed by quickly, with Roman just working on his sketch, moving along to the music, mouthing the words as he listened to it. All was calm and peaceful. Until his phone started ringing. Roman jumped slightly at the sudden noise and looked down at the caller ID. Fuck. It was Patton. 

Roman hesitated for a moment, but picked up anyway. “Hey Pat,” he greeted his friend sheepishly. 

“Roman! Where are you?” Patton asked immediately. 

“Didn’t I tell you?” the other answered, stalling a bit so he had a bit more time to think of an excuse. “I had a- a dentist appointment, and… well, it didn’t seem useful to come back you know? I would have missed a lot, so…”

“No, you didn’t mention that.” Roman wasn’t sure if he heard some doubt in Patton’s voice, or if it was his imagination. 

“Oh… must have imagined that, then,” he chuckled, “but I’m fine. Just… at home right now.”

“Aha,” Patton spoke hesitantly. “Well… as long as you’re okay now, right?”

Roman nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay,” he was eager to say. “Don’t worry. Did I miss anything in class, though?”

“Of course not,” Patton responded. “Volleyball, but…”

“Good that I missed that,” Roman chuckled softly. There weren’t a lot of sports he disliked, but volleyball was the one sport he hated the most. He just… wasn’t good at it, and he didn’t like it either. Not at all.

“Exactly! And you wanna know who I got teamed up with?”

“Obviously I do, tell me!” Roman sat up a little straighter, eager to hear what Patton was about to say. Because it was apparent that this was some sensational news.

“Kenny and Karen.”

“_ No _.”

“_ Yes! _”

“Oh my goodness, Patton, I’m so sorry,” Roman said, shaking his head with a grin. “If only I could have been there for you.”

Kenny and Karen were both great sporters, and they were great to have on your team. But only if they were on separate teams. If they were teamed up, they were almost desperate to outdo the other, and prove that _ they _ were the best out of the two. On the one hand, that was good for their teammates. They were almost certain of a win, _ and _they didn’t have to do a lot. But it also got annoying real quick, because the two would always be bickering. It was all in good fun; they were great friends usually. But they also had huge egos. 

The two friends chatted for a while, easily losing track of time. When they ended the call, it was almost five pm, and time for Roman to go home as well. He had to have an early dinner and get ready for training. He was actually feeling better about going to training now. His back still hurt if he made the wrong movements, and he wasn’t completely recovered yet, but it was _ better, _at least. Good enough to move just a little bit more. Roman even considered going back on patrol tomorrow or the day after that. He’d have to take things slow, but he didn’t want to be too absent either. He didn’t want people to start asking questions. 

Either way, Roman went back home, making sure no one saw him as he used his powers to get down to the ground. He walked home still listening to his music as he did so. 

At home, things were quieter than he was used to. There was some music playing, but there wasn’t any talking, or loud television noises. It was… a pleasant greeting. He loved the bits of chaos he would be greeted with, but… the peace was nice too. 

“I’m here,” he called in a sing-song voice as he entered the living room. 

“Welcome home,” his mom responded in a similar tone from the kitchen. “Your dinner’s almost ready.”

Roman smiled as he dropped his bag, following the scent of what just had to be pasta. “Aw, thanks,” he grinned, leaning on the counter. “It’s quiet today, huh?”

“Yeah, Sophie’s at Alex’s place.” Megan spared her son a single look, before returning her attention to the sauce in front of her. 

“Ah, that explains it,” he murmured. Alex was Sophie’s best friend. If she was away, she was usually with him. He was so much more quiet than she was, so much calmer. Yet somehow… they just found each other. It was super cute, really. They were pretty much inseparable.

The teen turned his head, looking outside through the window over the sink. Right now, he just wished he could be outside. Just… anywhere. Back on that rooftop, or running through the city on patrol. Hell, he would want to be fighting someone at this point. All this doing nothing made him restless, and he couldn’t wait to get back into the Creativity thing. It was a part of him by now, and he missed it if he couldn’t do it. Nothing made him feel as good as Creativity did. Putting bad guys behind bars, saving people, that was the best thing in the world. And there was something about hearing fellow students talking about the stunt Creativity pulled the day before that. The hero was a local celebrity at this point, and it was _ awesome _. It was basically Hannah Montana. Oh my God, he was Hannah Montana. 

“Anything on your mind, Ro?”

Roman jumped slightly as his mother’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Wha-? No, no, nothing, really. Just a lot going on lately, I guess. Lot of school things.”

Megan nodded as she finished the sauce, grabbing a plate for her son. “Homework?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, taking the place. “And the project, mainly. Though that’s nearly finished, so…”

He got some food on his plate and walked to the living room, chatting to his mom about his day - sneakily avoiding the topic of PE - as he ate the meal. It was so strange to talk like this, just the two of them. Very often, Sophie would be there. Either alone, or with a friend. It was way calmer than he was used to. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

Around the time that Roman had to leave for his training, Megan headed out to pick up her daughter. 

“Good luck, Ro,” she smiled as she put on her coat. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Thanks. Tell Sophie I said hi.”

“Of course.” Megan grinned as she left the room. 

Roman left the apartment a few minutes later. He was actually looking forwards to doing something again. But, no matter how much he loved sword fighting, there was a part of him that wanted to skip the training and patrol the city. To actually fight someone. A real fight, with real stakes. He… he needed the thrill. The danger about fighting bad guys - minor criminals as well as the true villains - was exhilarating, and he loved it. So, so much. 

But he’d already missed training on Saturday, and he didn’t want to skip _ too _much. He wanted the chance to catch up with his friends, and to train. He needed to train his fighting skills, after all. He couldn’t save the world if he didn’t know how to fight. 

As soon as he entered the dressing room, the teen was greeted by a chorus of voices greeting him enthusiastically. 

“Ro!” Maurice grinned at him. “Where were you on Saturday? We missed you!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Roman nodded as he dropped his bag to the floor. “My sister was ill, so I… had to stay in and take care of her. My mom wasn’t at home.”

“Good you’re alive, though,” Maurice responded as he reached for the water bottle in his bag. “Lawrence was afraid you’d gotten caught up in that fight in the centre.”

“The Creativity one?”

“Was there another fight in the centre that day?”

Roman snorted. Oh, if only they knew how right Lawrence suspicions where. They’d probably freak out. Either in the good way, or the worried one. No matter which one of the two it would be, Roman would do anything to prevent that. “Don’t know, that’s why I asked.”

Maurice laughed softly. “Okay, fair,” he conceded. “But yeah, that one.”

“Well… I wasn’t.” Roman didn’t look at any of the others as he said this. “Luckily. It didn’t look like something I wanted to be a part of.”

“Oh, tell me about that,” Dan cut in, not looking away from the mirror as he tried to tie his long hair into a bun, so he could keep the hair out of his face during the training. “Did you see the part where Hellfire threw Creativity out of the window? I mean… holy crap that’s some tough shit.”

“Oh no, not this again,” Maurice muttered under his breath, hiding a smirk. “You’ve been over this on Saturday, dude.”

Dan rolled his eyes with a smile, taking a second to flip his friend off. “Come on, don’t say that wasn’t intense as fuck,” he commented. “It’s a miracle the guy’s even alive!”

“I’m not saying it wasn’t intense as fuck, I’m just saying that not everyone needs to hear about this just because you have the hots for Creativity.”

Roman had been listening to his friends bickering with a smile, drinking his water. He nearly choked on the drink when this subject was touched, though. He coughed, covering up the shock at this comment with a chuckle, brushing it off as a laugh. 

“Shut up, I don’t have the hots for him!”

“Hmm, sure you don’t,” Maurice hummed smugly. The other guys in the dressing room listened to this exchange in amusement. It was certainly not the first time that a topic like this was discussed, and it most definitely wouldn’t be the last either. And while it was amusing, Roman couldn’t say that it wasn’t… _ weird _ . After all, this was _ him _they were talking about. And there was no one who knew about this but him. Sometimes he wanted to tell them, just so he could see how they would respond to the news. It was tempting, it really was. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to put his identity out there like that. Besides, it could be dangerous. You never knew who could be listening in. Roman had no idea who Hellfire was. They could be anyone. And if they happened to be hear this… it could be dangerous. He didn’t want to risk it. 

After training finished, Roman stayed behind to chat with his friends before going home. Admittedly, it hadn’t been the easiest training, but Roman pushed himself through it. He felt like he managed to hide it pretty well, though. No one asked him anything about it, or gave him any weird looks. So that was good. No suspicions.

When Roman wanted to put on some music on his way back, he noticed he had received a text from Virgil, and eagerly opened it. 

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ hey, think we can meet on friday to work on the presentation? _

He quickly answered that _ of course they could _. Quite obviously, he wasn’t going to turn down a chance to hang out with Virgil. Even now, when they could be considered friends, Roman was eager to meet up with his crush any chance he could get. 

All the way back, Roman and Virgil chatted, putting a smile on Roman’s face at pretty much every single message he got. As stupid as it might sound, talking to Virgil, even about something as simple as planning to work on a project, just made him feel so… giddy, and excited. He loved Virgil so, so much. Even just texting him was amazing. 

Yeah, he was a gay disaster. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Fighting, attempted robbery (implied), threatening with a knife, injuries

Surprisingly enough, Thursday went by easily, without many annoying questions about his absence in PE the day before. Yeah, there were a few people who wanted to know where he went, but that… that was it. No heavy consequences or stern talks, no detention. He wasn’t complaining about this, not at all. It only made today easier. 

After school, Roman decided to go out superhero’ing again. Even if he might not be fully back to his uninjured self, he missed it. And on top of that, it was lovely weather. Perfect for going out and checking on the city. 

He joined Patton on the bus ride home, got out at his usual stop, and waited for the bus to be out of sight, before running in the opposite direction of his house. The teen had decided to make a small round through the city. Starting in the centre, but going out to the most southern end of town. The shadiest part of town. He thought he might find something worth investigating there. Or, so he hoped, really. 

When Roman had changed into his superhero outfit, he took a moment to casually stroll around the city for just a few minutes. In those few minutes, he was stopped twice by a few people who wanted to take a picture with him. A boy about as old as Sophie, and two teenage girls, who he estimated to be a little younger than himself. Obviously, he posed for the pictures with them, even talked to the two girls for a bit, before he went off, doing his superhero stuff. After those few minutes, he decided to take to the rooftops, where he could see everything so much better. He hopped around, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his skin, and the wind playing with his golden cape. It was all so peaceful that he nearly forgot that he was out here on very serious business. Not that it mattered much, because nothing happened. But boy, he did enjoy being Creativity again. He really loved this alter ego of his. Even in those few days, he had missed doing this. It was so much more fun to be Creativity than just himself. I mean- he was a _ superhero _. Of course he was awesome. Those words were pretty much synonymous. 

After a few hours, nothing had happened, and Roman had decided to go home, so he could have dinner with his family. Maybe he could even do _ homework _. Which was a rarity for Roman, but he couldn’t always get away with ‘forgetting his homework’. At least he got back into the Creativity gig for at least a few hours. And it felt awesome. 

Friday after school, Roman and Virgil went to Virgil’s place after school. They were hoping to get their presentation done, so they could focus on improving the last details over the next week. 

They drove home with Virgil’s older sister, Dahlia. She was a senior at the same high school - Roman hadn’t known Virgil even had a sister to begin with, as Virgil didn’t really talk about his family a lot. The only piece of information he had mentioned was him having two moms, but that was it. The rest was a big mystery. 

“Hey you,” she smiled as her brother and his friend walked up to the car. “How was school on you?”

“Oh, you know,” Virgil mumbled softly. “School.”

Dahlia chuckled, ruffling her brother’s hair. “Whatever you say,” she grinned as Virgil fixed his hair with a soft grumble. “So, you’re Roman, right?”

“That’s me.”

“Virgil’s told us a lot ab-”

“_ Shut up _,” Virgil interrupted her, giving her a look before turning to Roman. “Sorry, just eh- don’t mind her.” He glared at Dahlia for one more second as he opened the door to her car. “Let’s just… go?”

Dahlia mumbled something under her breath, grinning at her little brother as she got in the car herself. Virgil waited for Roman to get in before following himself. 

The ride to their place was quiet, with Virgil and Roman mostly looking at their phones, and Dahlia focussing on the road, making the occasional small talk with her brother and his friend. About thirty minutes later, they pulled up in front of their house. Virgil’s moms were still out - one of them at work, and the other picking up his younger brother from school - so the two teens managed to quietly sneak up to Virgil’s room, where they could work on the project. 

As they entered Virgil’s room, the two were greeted with a soft purr from a black cat with small white marks sitting on the bed. She looked at the teens with sleepy eyes. 

“Hey, diva,” Virgil smiled as he dropped his bag on the floor next to his bed. “That’s my cat, Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way. Or, just- just… Ebony.”

Roman snorted at the name. “Oh my God,” he mumbled softly. “That’s the perfect name.”

“Thanks,” the other said, sitting down on his bed. “It’s my best work.”

“Understandable,” Roman nodded, grabbing the chair that stood next to Virgil’s desk and sat down. “So… presentation.”

Virgil hummed, looking up at his project partner as he petted his cat’s head. “Yeah, okay, let’s do that.”

Roman crossed his legs, looking at Virgil for a moment. He could sit here for ages. Doing nothing, and just… sitting. But he knew that would be weird. And it would be shitty for their project. They needed the time. 

“Yeah, so…” He cleared his throat, pushing his gay thoughts aside for the moment. “Ten to fifteen minutes, right?”

“Believe so,” Virgil responded as he got up to get his laptop from his desk. Ebony looked up, wondering where he went and why he suddenly stopped petting her. She meowed softly, resting her head on the bed again, eyeing Virgil’s movements. “I mean, it’s just… explaining the project and the outcome, right? Don’t think you can do much more with it.”

“Fair,” Roman sighed, “yeah, I think we just need to introduce our subject, explain our research and then the conclusion.”

Virgil nodded as he started his laptop. “Well, let’s get started, then,” he said, not sounding very excited to actually do it - and to be fair, Roman couldn’t blame him. Presentations had never been his favourite thing, really. But it had to be done. The project _ would _influence their final grade on the project, so it had to be a thing, unfortunately. 

Most people would think Roman would _ love _presentations. He was a huge theatre nerd, and he took every chance he could to act - though unfortunately, Creativity made this a little bit more difficult recently. And for a lot of people, this meant that surely, he would love presenting. After all, what’s the difference? You have to learn some lines and present them for a group of people. Basically the same, right?

Except it wasn’t. When acting, you know people are going to be judging your character, instead of _ you _ . When presenting, people are gonna be judging you, as there is no character for them to judge. Which, obviously, is way more creepy than acting. And on top of that, acting was _ fun _. Presenting wasn’t. 

The two of them discussed their ideas for the presentation and wrote out as many of the text as they could. At some point during the process, Ebony got up from the bed, curiously checking out Roman. She headbutted his leg a few times, before cautiously jumping on his lap. Virgil looked at this with a smile, knowing that Ebony didn’t often do this with people that weren’t him. Roman caught a glance of this smile as he looked up, carefully petting the cat’s head, and his gay heart made a leap or two. Virgil looked so absolutely gorgeous. Why was he so cute? That _ had _to be illegal, right?

The next moment, Virgil’s phone buzzed, and he looked down at the device. “Eh- mom wants to know if you wanna stay for dinner?”

Obviously, he did. Any time he could spend with Virgil was a good time. He didn’t want to look too eager, though. That… might be weird. “Yeah, sure,” he nodded, “if it’s not too much of a problem.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” Virgil reassured him as he typed out a quick message. “Any… allergies, or something else we should know?”

Roman shook his head. “Nope,” he answered, popping his ‘p’ ever so slightly. “I’m a pretty easy guy when it comes to that.”

Virgil chuckled softly, and Roman felt like he had done something right. He made Virgil laugh, hell yeah. It remained quiet after that, though, as Virgil finished the message to his mom. When he had sent it, he put his phone away again, and turned to Roman. 

“Okay, anyway… let’s finish this?”

“Let’s do it,” Roman grinned with a nod. “The sooner this is done, the better.”

Virgil nodded and hummed in agreement as he picked up his laptop again. Ebony let out a soft purr, looking up at Roman at the lack of attention. The teen grinned as he stroked her back, seemingly satisfying the cat, as she closed her eyes again. 

The two teenagers continued on the first draft of their text for the presentation, and finished not long before one of Virgil’s mothers called up to them that dinner was ready. Virgil quickly mailed Roman their finished product before they made their way downstairs. 

“You still _ have _to meet Patton,” Roman mentioned as they walked down the stairs. “He will love you, I am sure.”

Virgil smiled slightly. “Sure thing,” he said softly. “I’d love to meet him.”

“We should set it up some time, then!”

“Totally,” Virgil hummed as he opened the door for his friend. “After you.”

“Why thank you,” Roman grinned as he walked through the door, waiting for the other. He already heard a chatter of voices coming from the kitchen. It sounded… nice. There was a certain homey feeling about it. Not to say that he didn’t get a homey feeling like this at home, but it was different. He just lived with his mother and little sister. Of course there was commotion, but it was… a different level. Does that make sense? It’s just- it’s not the same type of noise. That makes sense, right?

Either way- Virgil and Roman walked to the kitchen, where the rest of the Adreana family was already present at the dinner table, busy talking as they waited for the middle child and his friend to come down. As soon as the door opened, the four seemed to simultaneously look up. 

“Virge, there you are!” one of the parents grinned as her oldest son walked in. “I was afraid you didn’t want to come.” Virgil rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, smiling vaguely. “And Roman! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Rachel, the fun mom.”

“One of the fun moms, you mean,” the other commented slyly. “I’m Debbie, it’s really good to meet you, Roman. Sit down, make yourself at home, don’t do anything stupid.”

“It’s the only thing he _ can _do,” Virgil smirked as he sat down on one of the empty chairs.

Roman gasped in mock offense and slightly nudged his friend. “Shut up,” he muttered with a glare. He quickly turned to Virgil’s moms with a polite smile as he sat down on the seat next to Virgil. “It’s very nice to meet you, too.”

“Virgil’s told us a lot about you,” Rachel continued as she got a large pan from the stove, giving her son a knowing look. Virgil groaned softly, visibly already regretting bringing Roman over. 

“Not you too,” he muttered softly, glaring at his sister as she chuckled. 

“Aw, don’t worry, Virge,” Roman smiled as he glanced at the guy next to him, trying his best not to get distracted by how cute he looked when trying to be intimidating. “I’m flattered.”

“Roman,” Virgil responded earnestly. “I always worry. That’s what I do.”

“Okay, fair point,” the other nodded. “I’m still flattered, though.”

Virgil gave him a little half smile (undeniably adorable) before looking away. “Shut up.”

Over dinner, Roman got to know Virgil’s family a bit more, got to know Virgil a bit more - mostly by teasing comments by his mothers or sister. Peter, the youngest of the three kids, was remarkably quiet, but Roman even managed to get a few comments out of him. He just wasn’t too fond of… talking. And while Roman was quite the opposite, he could also completely relate. Talking was horrible. 

When they had finished dinner - a phenomenal chicken fried rice - Roman stayed a bit longer, to spend some time with his friend and the rest of his family. They were just so… _ nice _. All of them were. He instantly felt like they had accepted him as an unofficial addition to the family - something which Roman really hoped would come true, since he was still unbelievably gay for Virgil - and he just felt at ease around them.

But, all things have to come to an end. Even this. Because duty was calling. The city needed a hero, and Roman would have to answer to that call. So, after a while, the teenager announced that he would have to go home.

“Of course, Roman,” Debbie smiled. “Do you have a ride home?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll take the bus,” Roman lied quickly. “It’s eh- not too long to my place.”

“Are you sure? I can drive you home if you want to, that’s no problem.”

“Oh no, that’s not necessary,” the teen said, shaking his head. Yeah, this sucked. Debbie was clearly way too kind. Always a dangerous person to have around when you had a secret identity to hide. “Really, I’m fine taking the bus.”

“Are you sure?” 

Roman nodded. “Positive. Thank you for offering, though.”

Debbie nodded as well, but there was a sort of hesitation on her face. “If you say so.” 

The teen smiled as he grabbed his bag, saying his goodbyes to the Adreana family. But not without making sure to tell them once more that he had enjoyed meeting them. He walked into the hallway, Virgil following him. 

“So…” the teen hero started, trying his best to look cool in front of his crush. “It- this was nice, you know? I didn’t know your family was so cool.”

Virgil snorted. “Whatever you call cool, I guess.”

“Hey, they’re nice, okay? That’s cool enough.”

“Of course.”

“I- eh… see you on Monday?”

“Sure thing,” Virgil agreed as he moved to open the front door for his friend. “Be safe, okay?”

“Of course, you know me.”

“Which is why I worry.”

“But you always worry, so that doesn’t mean shit,” Roman retorted with a sly grin. 

“Touché.”

The teenager stepped outside, smirking at his friend. “See ya, Virge.”

Virgil smiled with a half-wave. “See you.”

As soon as Roman was out of sight, he made sure to take to the skies, landing on top of a building again, dropping his bag. “I am the night,” he muttered in his best attempt at a Batman voice as he changed his outfit with a snap of his fingers. He chuckled with a shake of his head and took to patrolling the city. He would have an hour or two, and he wanted to spend those wisely. 

After about an hour of hopping around, Roman heard a loud yelp. Without hesitation, the teen hero rushed in the direction of the sound. They weren’t far away, so he could easily follow the sound of the two voices he heard. 

When he was pretty much standing above the source, of the sounds, he looked down for a second to check out the situation.

He saw two people, one pushed against the wall in a small alley, the other in front of them, a knife drawn. The one with the knife edged closer to her victim, pressing the knife against their skin as her voice dropped to just above a whisper. 

“Okay, that is my cue,” Roman whispered to himself as he dropped himself, using his telekinesis to slow himself down as he did so. He dropped behind the two. It didn’t look like there was much reason for him to draw his sword, so he held his arms behind his back as he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think your friend wants to talk right now. So maybe… fuck off? It’s just a suggestion, of course.”

The criminal whipped around, her long red hair hitting the other guy in the face. She pulled her knife away as she stepped towards Roman, clearly trying to intimidate him. “And who are you supposed to be?” she asked, looking at his outfit with a disdainful smirk.

“You don’t know me?” Roman returned, not affected by her attitude. “Now, that stings.” He held up his hand, using his telekinesis to pull the knife out of her hand and catching it himself. “I’m Creativity. Every bad guy’s nightmare. Are you sure you haven’t heard of me?” 

He studied the knife in his hand. It wasn’t exactly… new. It looked old, and used. “Are you sure this thing is sharp?” he murmured to himself, carefully pricking his finger on the tip. Okay, that did sting. “Oh, hey, it is!”

The woman huffed, and after a moment or two, Roman realised where he was. “Oh, right, I nearly forgot!” he exclaimed, pointing the knife at the criminal. “Don’t do crime, crime is bad. So either you fuck off, or this is gonna end badly for you.”

The teen eyed the guy behind the woman. They still pushed themself against the wall as much as possible, hoping they could just… disappear. He had to get them out of here, but their one possibility to get out was blocked. For a moment, the teen considered getting them up to a roof, but he couldn’t let the criminal get away in the process. 

He had only been distracted for a second, but it was enough for the woman to approach him and throw a punch at his jaw. She then reached for the knife in his hands, but Roman threw it in the air before she could grab it, stumbling back from the impact of her punch. He focussed his powers on the weapon, keeping it up in the air as he grabbed her outstretched arm. 

The woman gritted her teeth and kneed Roman in the stomach, just as he raised a fist. He stumbled back, but didn’t let go of her wrist. She was thrown off balance for a second, and Roman used this moment to land a few punches, pushing her into the wall. 

“Call the cops,” he told the victim, who was still frozen in place. “I got this.”

They nodded and started feeling their pockets for their phone. The woman had recovered from the blows and tackled Roman to the ground, throwing a few consecutive punches at Roman’s face. The teen closed his eyes on instinct and raised his arms to block the hits. 

“Nightmare, huh?” she sneered. “You’re right, I’m _ terrified _.”

“You should be,” Roman hissed, still blocking the punches she tried to throw at him. “You don’t know what I can do.”

“Right. You’re doing a great job right now.”

This wasn’t going anywhere. He needed to keep her here until the cops arrived to take her in, and she was clear to leave at any moment now. If she wasn’t planning on beating him to pulp first, that is. 

This wasn’t what a superhero was supposed to do, though, right? They weren’t supposed to let themselves lose like this. No, no, this wasn’t it. So, the next chance he got, he grabbed her wrists tightly. 

“Why, thank you,” he groaned, holding her arms back. In a matter of seconds, he managed to flip them around. He pinned her arms to the ground, conjuring a pair of handcuffs to hold her back. However, it appeared she wouldn’t let herself get arrested that easily. Expected, but still a shame. Why did no one ever want to make it easy for the good guys? 

Anyway- she wouldn’t give up without a fight, and struggled against Roman’s hold, doing her best to kick him or to shake him off. And despite the teen’s best efforts, she managed to land a few painful kicks in his side and she pushed him off. This caused the hero to lose concentration for just a second or two, and he noticed the knife in the air starting to shake and fall in slowmotion. He wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. 

The female looked at the weapon herself for a second, and seemed to consider grabbing it for a second. But then, she shook her head to herself and turn around, ready to run away. She knew the cops had been called, and she wanted to be away before they arrived. 

“Oh, no you’re not,” Roman hissed softly as she made her way out of the alley. He dropped the knife, making sure it wouldn’t hit anyone, and used his telekinesis to instead pull one of her legs off the ground as she ran away. The woman fell to the floor, unable to keep her footing. Roman pushed himself up and ran towards her, pinning her to the ground and knocking her out before she could do anything else. 

As the woman stopped moving - don’t worry, she’s only K.O. - Roman got up, and turned around to see the victim. “Hey you,” he smiled, approaching them slowly. “Are you okay?”

They nodded, hesitantly taking a step forwards. “Thank you,” they said with a fragile voice. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Roman responded kindly. “I couldn’t do nothing, you know?”

Just in that moment, he heard police sirens drawing closer. The teen hero looked around to see red and blue light approaching. “Hey, do you think if you can handle the cops?” He asked them, tilting his head a bit. “Not all of them really… _ like _me, you know? With me doing their jobs and stuff.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” they nodded. The hero smiled at them and placed a reassuring hand on their shoulder. 

“Alright, I’ll be up there to make sure everything works out, okay?” He pointed at the rooftops looming above them. The stranger nodded as Roman created a grappling hook. “Awesome, stay safe.”

He winked quickly at them before pulling the trigger on the grappling hook and going up to the roofs. 

The teen stayed true to his words, and watched as the stranger handled the police, telling them exactly what had happened. The cops asked them to come with them for an official statement, and as they walked back, the stranger looked back to the roof, smiling as they spotted Roman there, like he had told them. They gave him a thumbs up as thanks, and the teen responded with a salute and a small wave. Then, they ran off, and Roman walked away from the edge, getting ready to go home. 


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Roman woke up with a throbbing pain on the sides of his face. When he snuck into the bathroom, he noticed a number of bruises from the night before. 

“Oh, great,” he groaned as he went to look for his make-up. He couldn’t show up downstairs with all  _ this  _ on his face. His mom would ask questions, and he wouldn’t have the right answers for this. 

He quickly grabbed his foundation to cover up the bruises, as his mind started to wander to the night before. He really had to step up his fighting game if he wanted to beat Hellfire, didn’t he? How could he fight this guy with the ability to manipulate  _ fire _ , if he could barely fight someone without any abilities? He was Creativity, dammit. There  _ had  _ to be a way. There had to be something he could do. 

And on top of that, he decided that he needed a way to be in contact with the city. A way for people to reach him if they needed help. He couldn’t leave it to fate anymore. He couldn’t patrol the city every night, hoping to run into crime. There had to be a more efficient sign. Like the bat signal, except it’s… different somehow. He’d have to think about that one. 

After having made sure that the bruises were covered up, Roman finally made his way downstairs, where he saw his mother and sister sitting at the kitchen table, with a book between them. 

“Morning, sweetheart,” Megan smiled as she saw her son entering. “Did you sleep well?”

He nodded, sitting down. “Yeah. Could be better but… it was okay. How about you guys?”

Both Megan and Sophie responded that their night had been good as Roman grabbed the cereal for his breakfast. They made a bit of smalltalk, but mostly minded their own business. Roman scrolled through his Tumblr, responded to a few messages on Discord, normal teen stuff, you know? And that’s where he got the idea. 

A social media account for Creativity. That would be the  _ perfect  _ way for people to be able to communicate with him! He’d have to be careful with his postings, obviously, but… it was not a bad idea. The only things he had to pay attention to were that he wasn’t recognizable, yet that people still knew it was the real Creativity. On top of that, he would probably have to make sure that the IP-address couldn’t be traced to him, in case there were any people who hoped to find out where he lived. Maybe an exaggeration, but he didn’t want to risk it. Better safe than sorry. Which meant that he couldn’t post anything at home. Easy enough, right? 

Roman finished his breakfast slowly, but it couldn’t be eaten soon enough. Now that he had the idea, the teenager really wanted to make the social media account for his alter ego, but it was too risky to do it with his mom around. So… he had to wait. Preferably until he was outside somewhere. Just to be safe, you know? One could never be too safe. Especially not when one had a superhero alter ego like Roman did. 

So, as soon as he finished his meal, the teenager went upstairs, to brush his teeth and get dressed. He told his mom a lie about hanging out with Patton as he went back downstairs, saying goodbye to his mother and sister before leaving. Megan must think of her son as probably the most social teenager ever, seriously. 

As you will know, Roman was not actually going to go to Patton - though he should, he realised. It had been a long time since they hung out. No, he went up to the high roofs in town. Where he could safely make the account for Creativity. He had already decided that he was going to make a Twitter account; that was probably the best way to be in contact with the citizens of the town. On top of that, he was going to make a new email as well, because he didn’t want his personal email to be linked to Creativity’s Twitter. If the wrong people found out- that would be bad news. 

A few minutes later,  [ Creativitylmao@gmail.com ](mailto:Creativitylol@gmail.com) and the Twitter account @Creativity_Official had been made. The only thing left, was making it real. 

That’s why Roman had changed into his Creativity suit. Currently, he was standing near the edge of the building, leaning backwards slightly so the background was a stunning view of the city. With a smile, he made a peace sign with his left hand, while his right thumb pressed the button to take a picture. He took a few more, before stepping forwards again, trying to see if any of the pictures he took would be icon-worthy. There were a few that were nice, but Roman feared that he might be recognizable in some of them. Sure, it might take a bit of effort, but he was terrified of someone finding out who he was. He didn’t want to risk it. So, he took a few more pictures. When he finally found one that he was satisfied with, he changed the accounts icon to that one picture. 

After having made a description and chosen a header, only one thing was remaining: a first tweet. Roman had already decided he wanted to make a video, as that might be easier to believe than a simple picture or tweet. But this left one more challenge: his voice. If he talked in his regular voice, he was sure to be recognized by people he knew. People from school, sword fighting, his family. They obviously knew his voice. So, he had to change that. He was an actor, and he was used to giving his characters specific voices and accents. That wasn’t the issue, but deciding on a good voice was. He hardly bothered to mask his voice in normal patrols, because he never saw anyone he knew. But now that he was posting something online… that was something else entirely. 

This made the next step giving Creativity a new voice. Roman tried a few things, saying a few words every time. A little higher, a little lower, a little harsher. It took him a bunch of attempts - he lost count of how many exactly, but he also… didn’t really care. The teen made a little script in his head of what he wanted to say and got out his phone again, trying to find the right angle that would show his outfit, but not his face. When he had finally found that perfect angle, Roman made the video. 

“Well, hello there,” he spoke in the voice he had given Creativity that was slightly lower than his own. “It’s me, Creativity, and I’m here to say that… well, I made this account because I felt like it would be a good way to be in contact with all of you. I obviously cannot see everything that happens, so if there is anything going on that you need help with, you can tweet it to me. And with help, I mean the serious stuff. Anything that you or the police can’t fix. I’m not talking about your cat being stuck in a tree or not knowing what to wear. I’m talking about Hellfire, or anything of the like. Bad stuff. If that’s happening, you can let me know. Tag me, make a hashtag for it, whatever. I might not be able to help, maybe it’s because I’m wrapped up in… life, maybe it’s the distance, or I’m already busy with someone else. But I can promise you that I will do my best to help you all out. I want to be sure that this city is a safe place, and if there is anything I can do to make that happen, I am more than happy to do so. I promise you that. Now, just to make sure that you believe me, I will show you this.” Roman let go of his phone, keeping it up in the air with his telekinesis. He made the phone fly up a little, so his full outfit was visible. His golden cape was moving in the wind, and the teen couldn’t help a grin at the image he saw on his screen. “View’s lovely, isn’t it?” he asked, moving the phone so that his view was visible as well. “Anyway,” - he called the device back to him - “I think that should do. I hope this thing works out. See you guys later.” 

He finished the video with a salute and sat down, pulling the mask off as he watched the video, making sure it was good. After that, he watched it another time, wanting to be sure that he didn’t give himself away or mess up something else. When it had gotten his approval, Roman posted the video with a brief tweet. He then closed his app and got up, looking at the city before him. It was absolutely gorgeous. He would do anything to protect this town. Anything. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: fighting, fire, attempted murder,

** _Best Pals_ **

** _Roman has made the group chat “Best Pals”_ **

** _Roman has invited Virgil to the group chat_ **

** _Roman has invited Patton to the group chat_ **

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ ??? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Okay oksy so _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I already told you you had to meet Patton _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ So I made this gc so we can actually arange smth instead of always saying were gonna do it and never do yknow? _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ ah _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ alright _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ If thats… okay ofc. You dont have to but- _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ no no its good dw _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ If you say so _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ Hi!! You’re Virgil right? How are you? _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ good? i guess? idk im not really… doin anything so _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ yeah _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ Oh that sounds good! Well I’m glad to hear that :D _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ how abt you? _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ and you too, ro _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ I’m alright, thank you! Just taking a break from homewrok _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Im tired, but… not bad I guess _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ you guess? _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Yeah- ignore that one, Im alright, really _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ really? _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Really _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ hm _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ alright if you say so _

Roman closed the group chat for a second to check his Twitter. In just a day, he had accumulated over one hundred followers already. Which was… not bad at all. His tweet had been liked and retweeted a bunch of times, and there were quite a lot of responses too, and it was still going strong. 

In the meantime, he noticed Virgil and Patton making some talks in the group chat, and he watched their exchange with a smile. He just _ knew _those two would like each other. And it would seem that he had been right, as they did appear to get along quite well immediately - if their texts were any indication, at least. 

They chatted a bit with the three of them, and Roman was honestly glad that he had made this chat. It seemed that his best friend and his other good friend who was secretly his crush got along, and he couldn’t be happier. It would be… shitty if they didn’t, so this was a relief. Not that he ever doubted this, but.. it was still a relief. 

A week quickly passed, and Roman and Virgil met up at Roman’s place to go over their presentation one final time. The day of their presentation was coming closer and closer, and Virgil clearly got nervous at the mere thought of it. Roman did whatever he could to help his crush, but he also realised that not everything could be helped. However, Virgil had agreed to actually meet Patton later, and Roman hoped that maybe Patton could help distract him just a bit for the time being. 

While they were working on the project, Roman routinely checked his phone for any Twitter notifications, as had become usual for him over the past week. Sometimes he had nothing, sometimes he had new followers or likes, and sometimes he just got a tweet of someone who wanted to thank him, or just tweet him for the sake of tweeting him. Virgil noticed Roman’s habit, but didn’t comment. Though he had to admit he was _ very _curious to know what it was he kept looking at. 

Around two o’clock, Patton arrived, as they had discussed. Roman heard his mother greeting his friend and telling him that Roman would be upstairs. He turned to Virgil. 

“Think the presentation is good enough?”

Virgil nodded. “Think so. It probably is, right?”

“Probably,” Roman responded as Patton opened the door. “I don’t think there’s much more for us to do anymore.”

“Good,” Virgil breathed as he closed his laptop. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

In the meantime, Roman got up to greet his friend with a hug. “Glad you found it, Pat,” he grinned, nudging him slightly. “Well… meet Virgil.”

He made a grand gesture to Virgil, who just gave Patton half a wave, clearly nervous about meeting this new guy. Patton, on the other hand, waved excitedly at the guy in front of him. 

“Hey,” he smiled as he sat down in the chair Roman had occupied a few seconds prior. “It’s so cool to meet you!”

Virgil nodded as Roman joined him on the bed. “Yeah, same- I mean, it’s… cool to- to meet you too.”

Patton gave Virgil one of the most adorable smiles Roman had ever seen. He clearly noticed the other’s anxiety, and he wanted to put him at ease as much as he could. It was clear in the way he kept his distance, in the way he paid attention to his body language. Roman was pretty sure that Patton was one of the sweetest guy to have ever existed. He was an actual sweetheart. 

The three of them spoke for a while, and Roman noticed that Virgil got more and more comfortable around Patton, and there were no words to describe how much that meant to him. It was weird, he didn’t know why he cared so much about how his two friends would get along, but he was really happy that they did. 

But then, Roman felt his phone buzzing twice; the notification he had set for Twitter. He immediately checked it, half expecting it to be another retweet, or meaningless tweet of excitement. Except it wasn’t. It was a picture of the town hall, taken from just outside the building. And just inside one of the rooms, the teen could see a flare of blue light. The picture had a caption to accompany it:

** _@SarahAllisson_ **

_ Hellfire. I think thatd the mayrs officr, pls help #CallForCreativity #CFC @Creativity_Official _

Nearly immediately, Roman felt his muscle tensing and his heart pounding in anticipation. Why did Hellfire have to choose today to show up? Of all moments they could have picked. Why now?

“Ro? Are you okay?” Apparently his moment of panic was obvious, cause now both of his friends were eyeing him with worry. Roman wasn’t sure who had spoken, so he looked at the two of them. 

“I- I have to go,” he rushed, his mind working at top speed to come up with an excuse. “There’s… an emergency at- at sword fighting. You guys can stay but... I gotta help, I’m sorry. I’ll- I’ll be back.”

He got up and nearly tripped over his feet in his rush. “Can we come?” Patton asked, looking at his friend. 

“No,” he breathed with a shake of his head, “you won’t… understand. I’ll be back as soon as possible, just… do whatever you want, but let me know if you leave, okay?”

The two others nodded, still confused as to what was happening, but Roman didn’t care. He had to get to the city hall in time. 

The teen ran downstairs and yelled out a quick explanation to his mother as he hastily put on his shoes. Then, he rushed outside, taking to the rooftops as soon as he could. He snapped his fingers to change into his suit while running, but didn’t falter otherwise. With a bit of running and swinging from his grappling hook, Roman made it to the city hall in a little over ten minutes. 

A small group of people had gathered in front of the building, they were talking and yelling, panicking and trying to calm each other down. Most of them were in some sort of official clothing, which made Roman believe that they worked at city hall. Police hadn’t yet arrived - and Roman wouldn’t expect them to handle this situation. It was up to Creativity. 

Without hesitation, the teen hero jumped down, using his telekinesis to soften his fall. “Let me through,” he yelled, pushed through the crowd, which parted for him already. In a few steps, he was stood in front of the large windows of what seemed to be an office. There was a desk with a laptop, and a bunch of pictures and files and decorations. In front of that, he saw Hellfire, clutching the shirt of someone he knew to be the mayor. He had to get in. 

When his red, white and gold figure appeared in front of the window, Hellfire looked up. For a second, their eyes met, and Roman saw the hints of a smirk growing on the villain’s face as they lifted their hand, blue and purple sparks starting to form. 

Roman’s eyes widened. “No!” He had to get in, right now. He had to save the mayor. There was no time to go around. He would have to go through the window. 

Time seemed to slow down as Roman conjured a shield and took a few steps back, only to throw himself at the window with as much force as he could muster. The window shattered, glass shards flew all around him, but Roman didn’t care. He jumped in front of the mayor and shielded him with his shield, protecting him from the flames shot at him. He could feel the heat, even behind his shield, as the metal coating started to melt underneath the flames, but the mayor was unharmed.

Creativity got up, helping the mayor to his feet and pushing him towards the broken window, looking at Hellfire. Before they could fire another ball of flames, Roman, inspired by one of his favourite heroes, threw the shield at them. In the second of distraction, he pushed the mayor out of the window. 

However, as it turned out, throwing a shield wasn’t as easy as the movies made it seem. Of course, this made sense, as the shield was nowhere as light and he was nowhere as skilled, but it was still a disappointment. Roman knew the shield would miss target, and he tried to redirect it with his telekinesis, but the villain just caught it and tossed it aside. 

“Dude,” Roman growled, summoning a sword, “the mayor, _ really _? Do you even know how much chaos that would cause?”

“More chaos than having an abuser in charge?” Hellfire tossed back, summoning a ball of blue flames. 

“Yeah, well… I never said he was a good person.” Roman held out his hand and summoned the shield on the floor. He caught this and held it in front of his chest, ready to duck behind it if he had to. 

When his opponent threw more blue fire at Roman, he quickly ducked - hearing some of the people outside gasp in shock - and quickly swiped Hellfire’s legs away, causing them to fall back. The flames they had cast, disappeared as soon as they missed their target. 

The teen hero got up and jumped at his enemy, ready to strike, when another blast of fire was shot at him. Roman jumped away, but it didn’t stop a bit of fabric on the side of his arm to catch the flames. The teen swore and tried to extinguish the small flames on his arm, dropping the shield in the process. The audience they had gathered yelled and gasped, and Roman wasn’t sure if he was amused or bothered by the amount of people that were still watching.

In the second of distraction, Hellfire had gotten up and back to fighting. Roman just managed to duck underneath one of their fists, but he missed the second one, aimed at his chest. All air escaped his body as the teen stumbled a few steps back. For a moment, he was unable to defend himself, unable to move. He was frozen. And exactly that gave Hellfire the perfect chance to land a few more punches, on the side of Roman’s face and his chest. The teen stumbled back against the desk. The crowd had gone silent, and he could feel the tension radiating off of them. It wasn’t looking too good for their hero. But he couldn’t let them down. 

Roman looked up at Hellfire with the best glare he could muster, just in time to dodge another fist aimed for his face. He elbowed his enemy in the stomach and followed up with a kick in the same spot, pushing the other back. He flew the shield back in his hand and hit Hellfire across the face with it two consecutive times. Immediately after that, he swung the sword, hoping to get another hit in, but the other stopped it with the bit of armour on their arm. The shield in Roman’s hand changed into a sword and the teen hero tried to hit his enemy with this one, but they managed to catch this one before he could. 

Hellfire didn’t hesitate for a second and kicked Roman back with so much force that he fell back over the desk, falling to the ground with a loud thud. He hit his shoulder on the chair behind the desk, and it _ hurt _, but Roman wouldn’t let that stop him. He couldn’t. 

With a soft groan, he pushed himself up, grabbing onto the desk as he got to his feet. He knew he was reaching his limit. After running so fast, and now this… he couldn’t last much longer. But he had to turn Hellfire in. He couldn’t give up. 

“You might as well give up, Roman,” Hellfire spoke smugly as Roman jumped back on the desk. “You aren’t gonna make it.”

Roman summoned two swords again. “It never hurts to-” He stopped immediately after that, as he realised something. _ Roman _. Hellfire had called him Roman. How did they know his name? How could they possibly know his name? Was it his social media? Had he messed up? Had he accidentally outed himself? “Wait…”

Hellfire seemed to realise their mistake as well, stopping for a second. The next moment, they pointed their arm at him, sending a pulse of electricity towards Roman, sending him back into the window behind him. Roman fell to the floor with a huff, pushing himself up. He felt like it was a miracle the window hadn’t cracked with all the force. 

Every single muscle in his body hurt, but Roman wouldn’t let himself get beaten like that. He couldn’t do that. Despite everything protesting, the teen pushed himself up. There was a commotion outside; people yelling and screaming, talking to the others, but he figured people were worried about him. He was still hidden behind the desk, maybe people feared he… died? 

But no. When he finally got up, resting heavily on the desk before him, he saw that Hellfire was gone. And the door to the office was open. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Injuries, mentions of fighting, overthinking, I think that's all

Roman cursed as he fully stood up, his weight leaning on his hands, which found their support on the mayor’s desk. Everything hurt. His back, his sides, shoulders, legs. What was that thing that Hellfire sent at him? It hadn’t been their powers, it had been… something else. Less lethal than their powers, but very painful nonetheless. 

For a second, Roman wanted to run to the open door, to follow the villain and try to track them down. But he knew he couldn’t do that. He was too exhausted, his legs were killing him, and Hellfire had a headstart. Even if he did manage to follow them, he would get knocked down in a matter of seconds. 

He couldn’t believe he had let them get away again. 

“Where’s the mayor?” he asked as he walked out of the office. “Is he safe?”

The people in front nodded and told him that the mayor had been safely hidden in the crowd, and he was now with the paramedics that had shown up during his battle with Hellfire. 

“Are you okay?” a worried teen asked, putting away her phone as she looked at the hero. 

Roman nodded, meeting her eyes for a second. “I’m fine,” he breathed, “I’ve had worse. I’ve been thrown out of a window, this is nothing.”

He was pretty sure that was a lie. This was probably worse, if not just as bad as the time Hellfire threw him out of the window. At least then, he could slow down his fall. Now, he couldn’t use his telekinesis to soften the blows the villain had delivered. And being thrown back into that window hurt quite a lot, too. Okay, okay, there was no broken glass here, but… it _ hurt _. And not just a bit.

At least the mayor was safe. For now. He wasn’t a good person - there had been a handful of people accusing him of emotional and physical abuse, and there had been multiple lawsuits against him on top of that - but he still didn’t deserve to die. Not at the hands of a murderer like Hellfire. Murder was still bad. Even if the victim was a bad person. Still murder, still bad. 

“Really?” the teen asked, looking at Roman with worry. He chuckled under his breath at her concern. He was the one with superpowers here, _ he _should be the one to worry about others. Not the other way around. 

“Really.” 

He made a bit of small talk with some more people, wanting to make sure everyone here was okay. And it might have been a reason for him to stall going home. He would have to come up with a good cover story, and on top of that, he was in just a bit too much pain to go back home just yet. He had a feeling that he would be skipping PE again this Wednesday. 

After a few minutes or so, Roman left, going back to the roofs, where he could just rest in peace before finally going home. His mom and friends would be worried - if Patton and Virgil were even still there.

He changed into his regular clothes and sat down on the roof for a few more moments, resting and… thinking. Hellfire knew his name. How did they know his name? Did they know him? The _ real _him? Or had he made a slip up on social media? He personally thought he wasn’t that recognizable. Was this conclusion wrong? He couldn’t think of any other option. Despite how much it would hurt, a part of him hoped that Hellfire would be someone who knew him in real life. Because if he really had made a mistake, and he had outed himself online… that could prove to be way more disastrous than someone he knew figuring out his secret. 

Finally, Roman pushed himself up with a shake of his head. His back and limbs still hurt, and he dreaded going home, but he couldn’t stay out any longer. So, he slowly made his way back home, hoping his injuries wouldn’t be too obvious. Maybe he could sneak into the bathroom and get some foundation before the bruises on his face really started to get obvious. Now, it was just red, and he had to make up some reason for it - maybe from running - but it would start to turn bluish in a bit, and he’d have to get to his makeup before that. 

“I’m back,” the teenager called out as he stepped inside his apartment again. He quickly went into the living room to see his mom, who looked up from the book she was reading. 

“Hi, sweetie, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “just… ran a lot.” He chuckled softly. “Emergency’s fixed, though. Are Patton and Virgil still up?”

“I think they are,” Megan nodded. “What did they need you for anyway?”

“Oh that’s… a long story,” Roman brushed off. “I’ll tell you later, okay? I just wanna… go upstairs first.”

He didn’t give his mother a chance to reply before running upstairs. The teenager rushed into the bathroom, quickly put on some foundation and applied some cream to the burn on his arm, before walking to his room, trying to act as if nothing was wrong, even though something was very much wrong. 

As his mother had told him, Patton and Virgil were still there, chatting about something. He could hear their voices through the door. And Roman had to admit that he was quite… glad that his two friends seemed to like each other enough to talk, even without him around. But at the same time, it _ sucked _because the fact that they were still here meant that he would have to make up an excuse to them, and he couldn’t think of anything that sounded convincing enough. That’s the main reason he didn’t tell his mom anything. He hoped that she would forget about it and he would be able to let it go. 

Roman was slightly hesitant when he opened the door, but he felt _ some _of that disappear when he saw his friends. But at the same time, he felt even more anxiety at the thought of having to explain his disappearance. 

“Ro!” Patton called out when he stepped inside. “You’re back!”

“Sure am,” he grinned, trying to hide his nerves. “So… did I miss anything?”

Virgil narrowed his eyes, studying his friend. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, worry shining through in his voice. “You’re acting… weird.”

Roman shifted slightly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he nodded, sitting down on the bed again. “Just… still kinda… with my head somewhere else, you know? A lot happened, don’t wanna go into too much detail, but… guess I’m still kind of wrapped up in that.” He scoffed and looked at his two friends. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Patton leaned forwards a bit, eyeing his best friend worriedly. 

“Yeah, definitely,” he nodded, hoping to drop the topic. “Like I said, a lot of chaos. There were a bunch of things going on.”

“If you say so,” Virgil shrugged, scrolling through something on his phone. He stopped for a second to look up at Virgil, and Roman could’ve sworn his heart stopped the moment their eyes met. “But you know we’re willing to listen, right? If you need to talk about anything.”

“Of course,” Roman said, giving his friend a grateful smile. “I know. But I’m fine, really. Let’s just… focus on something else, okay? What did I miss?”

The three of them talked, quickly forgetting Roman’s odd disappearance - for the most part, that is. Virgil and Patton stayed for dinner, but after that, they really had to go. So, Roman said goodbye to his friends, hiding a wince as he hugged them. When they were alone, the teen disappeared upstairs, giving his mom the usual homework excuse. 

However, there was no homework. Not for school, at least. But Roman had a lot to think about. There was the issue of Hellfire knowing who he was. But more importantly, there was the issue of how he was ever going to defeat them. It was clear that he wasn’t good enough to fight them. He had faced the villain three times now, and he had lost all of those times. Roman reasoned that, if he ever wanted to defeat this villain, he would have to step up his game. He had to get better at fighting hand to hand, without having to rely on his swords. Maybe he would have to start going to the gym, the teen hero reasoned. Or kickboxing, even. It would be worth it to at least do some research on it, he thought. Maybe he could find something else that he could do. Anything to help him improve his fighting. He couldn’t let this menace roam the city freely anymore. It didn’t look like there were many others with superpowers, and if there were, they kept quiet. Which meant that it was up to him to protect the inhabitants of the city. They counted on him. And he could not let them down. 

Despite the painkillers he’d taken, Roman couldn’t sleep well. He couldn’t find a comfortable position. No matter what he tried, it always hurt, putting pressure on his bruises. And if he did sleep, it was never really long or deep. And by the end of the night, it felt as if he hadn’t slept at all. He was utterly exhausted when he prepared for school, and his mind was still all over the place. His mother didn’t seem to notice, too wrapped up in some issues with her work. However, he was not that lucky with his best friend. 

Almost as soon as Roman sat down on the school bus, Patton saw something was wrong with his friend. Something about his body language just felt… off. They had known each other for years, of course he would notice that something was wrong in an instant. 

“Ro, are you okay?” he asked worriedly as the bus took off again. “You look… I don’t know. Off?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Roman muttered. “Just… tired. Didn’t sleep well last night. But I’m fine, Pat. Really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Patton wasn’t convinced. Roman knew it from the look his best friend gave him. He didn’t believe it. “Well… if you say so.”

Roman pretended he didn’t see the doubtful look Patton gave him as the bus stopped at the next bus stop. A knot formed in his stomach at the emotion in his friend’s eyes. He was _ so worried _, and it showed. It felt horrible to lie to him, but if Patton knew the truth, he would only worry more so… was he doing the right thing? Was he really doing the right thing by keeping his friend in the dark about his secret superhero escapades? Surely, he was, right? For his own safety, for his friend’s safety. Patton would worry himself to death if he knew. So… this was the right thing to do… right? 

As much as he wanted to be right, Roman started doubting his decision more and more. He was getting involved in stuff bigger than just stupid criminals. This was a murderer with superpowers! This was way bigger than anything he had ever done, and yes, maybe it would be nice if someone knew. Maybe it would be wise to tell his friends in case something really bad happened to him during a fight with Hellfire. But… he didn’t want to. Quite honestly… he was not looking forwards to having a talk like that. But maybe- maybe one day. If things really turned out way too much for him to handle.

The rest of the day, Roman had trouble paying attention in class. He was tired, and he had more important things on his mind than school subjects. Not surprisingly, all of those ‘more important things’, were linked to Hellfire or Creativity in some way. Every moment he felt like he was safe to, Roman checked his Twitter notifications. He occasionally risked his chances and liked a few tweets people had sent his way, but only after having made sure that _ no one _was looking his way. 

On top of his social media, he also started researching places to take kickboxing classes. Preferably with a personal trainer, so he could learn it even faster. He was even willing to find a job and pay a part of his lessons, so his mom didn’t have to pay for everything. Cause he knew it might be a lot to pay for both his sword fighting _ and _kickboxing. Yes, it would be super busy for him, and he would have to find a way to fit in his Creativity-ness, but… he was sure he would manage. Maybe he could find an easy job, something which he could easily skip if he had to be a hero. He didn’t know what that job would be, but… he could figure it out. A few quick Googles might give him a few good options. He’d have to check in with his mom first. 

After school, Roman skipped the superhero’ing, for obvious reasons, and immediately went back home, where he was ambushed by his sister as soon as he entered the apartment. 

“Oh, hey you,” he said with a smile as he returned her hug, trying to hide a wince. “How are you doing today, ma’am?”

“Doing better now, thank you good sir,” she smiled as you stepped back. 

“Well, isn’t that great to hear,” her brother grinned, ruffling her hair. 

“Stooop,” Sophie whined as she tried to fix her hair, though Roman could swear he saw a smile breaking through. 

Roman laughed as he made his way back towards the living room, but he was stopped by his little sister gently grabbing his hand, urging him to stop. 

“You wanna play with my dolls together?” She smiled up at her brother, hopeful that he wanted to join. Of course, she didn’t even have to wonder, because Roman absolutely loved her, and he loved doing things with her at least just as much. 

“But of course!” he grinned. “You go upstairs already, okay? I just want to say hi to mom first.”

“Okay!” She nodded excitedly and rushed upstairs, while Roman walked in the living room to greet his mother and have a short conversation with her before going upstairs to join his little sister in her room. 

During dinner that night, Roman decided to bring up that he wanted to take up kickboxing. Some might argue that it was stupid, because he had only thought about this for a day or so, but he knew it couldn’t wait too long. Right now, he was not capable of defeating Hellfire. The city needed a hero who could protect them, and right now, he wasn’t that hero. He needed to get better, and he needed to get better quick. He needed to train. So he didn’t have a choice.

“You know… I’ve been thinking about taking kickboxing classes,” he started, looking at his mom, who raised an eyebrow. 

“Kickboxing? Why?”

Roman shrugged, taking a bit. “I don’t know, I just want to… do some more training, and it seemed interesting,” he responded. “I’ve done some research, and I found some good personal trainers in the area that might be nice. Before you say anything- if I have to, I am willing to get a job and pay part of the tuition. Please? I really really want to do this!”

“Do you want to drop sword fighting, then? Or do you want to do both?”

“Both, preferably.”

“And a job on top of that?”

“Yes.”

“And school?”

“Yep.”

Megan sighed, looking at her son in silence for a few moments. Roman was starting to fear that she would not allow him to do so, for whatever mom-reason she’d give him, but finally, she sighed. 

“If you think you can do it,” she started. “But if your grades suffer under this, you’re making a choice, okay?”

“Deal,” Roman nodded eagerly, content with this response. He was just happy that he would be able to take up kickboxing and learn more about fighting. There was no way that he would screw this up. And if that meant making late nights working, or doing homework… well… so be it. He had to protect the city. 

After dinner, Roman showed his mom the pages he had found. After a bit of discussion, the two of them came to the conclusion that Roman would take one free trial lesson next week, and after that, he would decide if this was something he wanted to do. Of course, Roman already knew his answer. He would do it, even if he didn’t like it. It was the best way for him to get better at fighting. But he was willing to do this to satisfy his mother. He just hoped he would feel good enough to take the trial lesson next week. 

The next day, Roman and Virgil had to present their project in chemistry class. It was easy to say that neither of them were looking forwards to it. Virgil was anxiously fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie as his classmates did their presentation. Roman noticed this, and carefully grabbed Virgil’s hand, making sure not to startle his friend. (And he didn’t want to look as gay as he felt, either).

“We’re gonna ace this,” he said gently. “Trust me. It’s only ten minutes, it will be over before you know it, alright?”

Virgil shot Roman a smile. “You’re… probably right,” he muttered. “Sorry, I’m just-”

“No, it’s okay, no need to be sorry, alright? I get it.”

Virgil nodded slowly, not meeting Roman’s eyes. “Alright.”

After a few more presentations, the two of them were up, and if it had actually been interesting, I would have written all of it down. But the truth is… it wasn’t. It was just an ordinary presentation without any real relevance to the plot. The important thing here is that they did it, even if Virgil was anxious as all hell. It’s not as if it would be a huge impact on their eventual mark anyway. But they did it!

When they had finished, there were only a few more presentations until the end of the class. They had finished a few minutes early, but as Macauley refused to let them out of class before the bell rang, the students just chatted with each other, commenting on their project, or something entirely different. 

“Hey, we survived the project!” Roman grinned. “I say we celebrate it this weekend.”

“Celebrate how?”

Roman shrugged. “I don’t know. Go out, grab a drink? Maybe there’s something you still want to do? Just something lowkey and nice, just to relax. I say we deserve that, right?”

“Sure thing,” Virgil nodded. “Sounds good. I probably don’t have to be anywhere anyway, so…”

“Perfect!” Roman’s phone buzzed, and he checked it quickly, seeing that it was just someone tweeting him about yesterday. No emergencies yet. The world wasn’t ending… yet.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Unhealthy work ethic, pushing oneself, breakdown

That Friday, Roman had his first trial lesson in kickboxing. He would meet a trainer, Aron Daniels, at the gym in the centre of town, where their training would take place for an hour. So after dinner, the teen headed out, choosing to walk to the gym and just enjoy the cool air for as long as it lasted. His muscles were still a bit sore, but the worst of it was over, and he was confident that he would be able to pull this off. Just a bit of being okay before being sore as all hell tomorrow, he guessed. Even if he had some experience from sword fighting, Roman knew that kickboxing would be more difficult than sword fighting. But he was willing to endure that. The fights he was fighting were way beyond any level anyway. 

Looking down at the details on his phone every so often, Roman walked to the gym, starting his search for this Aron guy. Which turned out to not be so much of a search after all, as a tall and ridiculously muscular guy approached him not long after Roman stepped into the hall. 

“Roman Palmer?” he asked in a voice that wasn’t nearly as deep as Roman would have expected it to be.

“That’s me,” he nodded with a smile. 

“Nice to meet you,” the guy smiled, “I’m Aron Daniels.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Roman shook his hand with a nod. Aron gestured for Roman to follow him to a different room, where they would begin their training. They made a bit of small talk as they walked into the training room. There was no one else there, only some mats in various sizes, punching bags and weights. 

“Are you ready?” Aron asked as they made their way to the middle of the room. 

“I sure hope so.”

The trainer chuckled and turned to look at Roman. “I’m sure you’ll do good. Do you have any experience?”

“I mean… if sword fighting counts as experience, then I have been doing that for seven years.”

Aron nodded. “Alright, well… we’ll see if those seven years have done you any good.”

They started with a warming up. Just some stretches and jumps, nothing too different from what they did during sword fighting. There were some easy exercises, basically prepping for the real thing; some lowkey punches and kicks, just to get the muscles ready. 

Following that, they went over the basic fighting stance and practised a few basic punches. It was nothing too special, but it was still tiring, especially if you were doing it for an hour, and especially for your first time. But that didn’t mean that Roman didn’t love every second of it. Not just because of the prospect of being able to protect his city better once he understood all of this, but he _ actually _liked it, just because it was fun. He had always liked most sports, and this was definitely an interesting one. 

“Not bad for a first time,” Aron grinned as they finished the cooling down exercises. “What did you think?”

“It was actually quite fun,” Roman nodded, reaching for the bottle of water he had brought, just in case. And boy, he was glad he did. 

“So, can I assume I’ll be seeing more of you?”

“Oh you bet,” Roman grinned. 

“Great!” Aron nodded, following Roman to the door. “You’ll be hearing from us, then.” Roman hummed with a nod as they walked out. 

“Sounds good,” Roman smiled. “I’ll see you… I don’t know, later, I guess.”

“Guess so.”

The next day, Roman was nowhere as sore as he thought he would be. Sure, he was sore, and his muscles didn’t love him either. It just wasn’t as bad as he had expected. He assumed that the first class had just been a little introduction, because he knew that kickboxing was nowhere near easy. That’s what he kept hearing, at least. But he wasn’t complaining. 

The teen headed out early in the afternoon, not long after lunch. He would go to Virgil’s place first, where they would chat a bit, before going out to grab a drink and hang out. 

Getting to Virgil’s place meant taking a bus, and walking for nearly ten minutes after that. Except it took Roman fifteen minutes, because he had no sense of direction and he went the wrong way… multiple times. He was a walking disaster. 

But, the important thing is that Roman eventually found his way, and made it to Virgil’s place. Without having to ask anyone for help, mind you. He managed to find their house and rang the doorbell, patiently waiting for someone to let him in. It wasn’t a particularly nice day; it was cloudy and the wind was cold, but it wasn’t… a bad day either, and Roman wouldn’t mind having to wait outside for a bit. It wasn’t the worst ever.

However, it wasn’t long before Virgil opened the door. “Roman! Come in,” he greeted softly, giving Roman his trademark half-smile. “How was… kickboxing? Right? You had that yesterday?”

“I did,” Roman confirmed as he carefully took off his shoes. “It was awesome, though! It was really, really cool.”

“So… you’re gonna sign up officially?” 

“I think so, yeah.” Roman followed his friend up the stairs, to Virgil’s room. It was nearly surprising to see Ebony was _ not _sleeping on Virgil’s bed for once. Usually, she would be there, or somewhere else on Virgil’s room. But not today, apparently. 

They sat down and talked a bit, but Roman could _ see _something was bothering his friend. Or at the very least, there was something else on his mind. Roman tried to ignore it, reasoning that Virgil would talk to him about it, if he so desired. But it didn’t take long for his worry to take over and push aside that thought. 

“Virge,” he started hesitantly, “is something… up? You seem… preoccupied.”

Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. “No, I’m… fine, just- just thinking.” He wouldn’t look at the other as he said this, and to Roman, that was an indication that something was wrong. 

“You know you can talk to me, right?”

“Of course I do,” Virgil said, leaning forwards a bit. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments. Roman sat back and let him take the time he needed. He had to admit that he was worried, but he wouldn’t push Virgil. It was okay if he didn’t want to talk, or if he felt like he couldn’t. 

“Okay…” the other breathed, nervously running a hand through his hair again. “So… yeah, there _ is _a thing…”

“You don’t have to talk about it, okay?” Roman interrupted, fiddling with his sleeves. “Only if you want to.”

“No… no… it’s okay.” Virgil shook his head. “I… guess I have to, it’s just… weird?” Roman nodded, giving his friend every bit of his attention, but didn’t speak up. “Okay- just… just getting it out here.” He took a deep breath, clearly nervous. “You- you’re Creativity, aren’t you?”

For a few moments, Roman didn’t know what to think, what to say. How did Virgil know? How did he… when did he come to this conclusion? Was it something he said, or did? After all… Hellfire knew his real identity too. This couldn’t be a coincidence, right?

“I- I- what?” he stammered, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. “No, I… _ no _. Where did you get that idea?”

Virgil sighed again, finally looking back at his friend. “It makes sense, though… you disappeared on me… twice. Both of those times, something happened with Creativity. Both of those times, you ended up injured later. You refused to give a reason for your disappearance with me and Patton, and… well, I happened to notice a tweet directed at Creativity, sent right before you left that day. That can’t be a coincidence, right?”

_ God, _why was Virgil so fucking observant? Roman never would have pieced those things together if it were him. And when did he even start to suspect this? This was… not great, if he was being honest. Could be better. 

“Okay,” he finally conceded, “_ fine _, I am him, but… don’t say it that loud, okay? Walls seem to have ears.”

Virgil nodded, looking down at the hands in his lap. He didn’t speak up for a few moments, and Roman felt like he was going to _ burst _. If Virgil wasn’t going to say something real soon, he might die on the spot. He was just… extremely scared of what his friend would say. There were reasons why he didn’t tell anyone about any of this. 

“I’m not… trying to stop you, or make you do anything or whatever, but… you need to tell Patton."

Roman looked at him as if he was crazy. "No, I don't. If he knows I'm…” he paused, lowering his voice for one moment as he continued, “_ you-know-who _, he'll worry himself to death."

Virgil raised an eyebrow, finally daring to look into Roman’s eyes. "Do you think he's not already doing that?"

"What do you mean?"

"_ Roman _ ," he emphasised, "you really think he doesn't worry about why you show up bruised and hurt every other week? Why you've skipped school twice now, why you’re lying about not being able to hang out, lying about going to training when you're _ not _. Don't you think he'd worry? He deserves to know."

Virgil made a point. He made a very amazing point, and Roman knew it. He understood that Patton would worry about him - even though Patton worried about him _ before _he became Creativity as well, so that didn’t mean much. But even then… the thought of telling Patton about all of that… that still wasn’t appealing. 

Roman ran a hand through his hair. "I know he does,” he surrendered, “I just... don't _ want _to tell him. I mean- I wouldn't have told you it you hadn't found out."

"Why not?" Virgil frowned.

"I'm just... scared," the teen admitted. "Of how he'll react. I know he'll be worried, and... I'm scared for his safety. For yours, my family. My own."

"Why?"

"The more people know... who I am, the more chance there is of the wrong people finding out too. If some bad guy knows my identity, it'll be easy to find out where I live, where I go to school. Who my family and friends are... I don't wanna risk it."

Don’t forget the fact that Hellfire already _ knew _his name. Roman quickly decided that that would be a bit too much to tell Virgil now - if ever - but it was still a very real issue, and a terrifying one at that. Now that he knew one of his opponents already knew who he was… he had to be so much more careful. 

"So…” Virgil tentatively broke the silence between them, “your mom doesn't know either?"

"Nope. No need to worry her."

"Are you crazy? You need to tell her!"

"I don't _ need _ to do anything," Roman defended, “she can’t know. I can’t risk her stopping me from going out and doing… _ this _. Besides, I’ve got this.”

"Didn't Hellfire kick your ass like... four times? Doesn't look like you've got this."

Roman narrowed his eyes for one second. More out of concentration and thought than anger in this case. Though he had to admit, this was kind of frustrating. "I'm getting there. That’s… that’s what kickboxing’s for. And it’s three times, actually.”

Virgil opened his mouth, very ready to protest, but he quickly closed his mouth again, choosing to think about his words before uttering them. Roman was a stubborn guy, so he had to pick his words wisely here. 

“Are you sure you want to do this, though?” he finally asked, his voice soft and worried. “I’ve seen the videos, and no offense, but… it doesn’t look like you’re a match for this guy.”

“No, you’re right,” Roman concurred, “I’m not. That’s why I’m gonna train. I can’t just let them do this, Virgil. The police can’t handle someone like… like _ them _. With powers. Someone else is gonna have to do it, and no one else has stepped up yet.”

“This is going to kill you one day, you know?”

“Wrong,” the other teen said pointedly. “At least… as far as Hellfire goes. They could have killed me on multiple occasions, but they didn’t. And I don’t think they’re gonna. But you know who they _ will _kill if I don’t do anything? People they think are criminals and deserve to die. They killed three people, and they could have killed double the number if I hadn’t been there. I can’t allow them to kill anyone else, Virgil. I just… I can’t. I need to at least try to protect them. That’s my thing, you know?”

Despite his attempt at a laugh at the end of his monologue, Virgil heard the shift in his friend’s tone. It was clear that the deaths of those three people weighed heavy on him, and who wouldn’t feel the same? Virgil understood how much that must suck for him, but that didn’t ease his worries for his friend. In fact… quite the opposite, really. If Roman was so determined to save all these people, he might never quit this Creativity thing. And there was no way that _ that _would be good for him. He barely what he was doing, and Virgil honestly feared that this would be his death eventually.

“Roman… you know it’s not your fault, though, right?” Virgil asked carefully, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Those… those people, you couldn’t help it.”

“Except that I _ could _ . That banker, Ron Cooper? I was _ there _when it happened. Hellfire distracted me with an attack and- killed him. I tried to save him, but they stopped me and then it was too late and…” He closed his eyes as he shook his head, the memory still too clear in his mind. When he spoke up again, his voice was softer and more strained, heavy with emotion. “And those other people? The two from Rant-In… Jacob and- and Jay, I think. They… if I had been there sooner, or if I had caught Hellfire… they’d be alive, and I, I can’t…”

He shook his head again, his hands gripping his hair tightly. Virgil bit his lip and edged forwards. “Roman…” This was way too much for a sixteen-year old to deal with. They were supposed to worry about school and getting dates and stupid things, but not… preventing murder. That was insane! “Hey, it’s alright.”

“No, no, it’s fucking not!”

“It is, though,” Virgil said softly as he took Roman’s hands in his, gently urging him to let go of his hair. “It sucks, I understand, but it’s not your fault. You did what you could, alright? I know this sounds easy coming from me, but… don’t try to blame yourself, okay? Don’t beat yourself up over this, because you did more than anyone else could have done.”

Roman didn’t even try to form a response, he just wrapped his arms around Virgil, who tensed up for a second before returning the gesture. He could basically _ feel _ Roman trembling in his arms. God, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how this all must feel for him. He didn’t even know how to comfort his friend. How _ would _you comfort someone who felt like it was up to him to save everyone, and who broke every time he failed in his own eyes? Were there even words to use? Would anything suffice? Virgil doubted that there would be anything that could lighten the burden Roman had placed upon his own shoulders. 

“I’m sorry,” Roman whispered after a few moments. “It’s just… not… easy, I guess.” He scoffed as he pulled away, too scared to meet Virgil’s eyes. “I watched that banker die, I heard him, and…” He winced as he remembered his screams. If there was any way he could delete any of his memories, he wouldn’t hesitate to delete that one. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Virgil said as he took Roman’s hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. “It’s okay, Roman. It’s not your fault, though.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe that.”

Virgil carefully smiled. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

That earned a careful smile from Roman, which Virgil counted as a victory on his part. At least Roman was smiling again. A tiny tiny smile, but it was better than no smile. 

The two teens chatted for a bit more, and when Roman felt like he was ready to face people again, they went out to a nearby cafe, to get that drink they’d been meaning to get for ages, never ceasing their talks. 

“Oh my God, you know what I should do?” Roman exclaimed suddenly as they sat down in a small booth next to the window. He stopped and looked around, making sure no one was looking at him, but he still lowered his volume as he continued: “I should make a list of important people in the region who’ve been in the news with their crimes. Hellfire is bound to target one of them at some point, right?”

“I can’t say they won’t,” Virgil sighed, “but do you really think you should let this whole thing take over your life like this?”

“If I don’t do it, no one will,” the younger teen argued. “I have to try, cause no one else will be able to anyway. And if there is someone who can… well, then it’s about time they show themselves, don’t you think?”

As much as he wanted to, Virgil couldn’t argue with that logic. Hellfire was dangerous, and no one could match their powers, but… he didn’t want _ Roman _ to be the one to face them. He wanted someone more… experienced to fight them. Like… why couldn’t someone like Captain America show up and kick this guy’s ass? Virgil knew he would prefer that by a long shot. 

“I guess,” he said with a reluctant sigh, “but still. Just… at least be careful, okay?”

“I always am.”

Virgil scoffed, sipping his latte. “Yeah, right. Weren’t you the guy who was thrown out of a window?” 

“In my defense… that wasn’t my fault,” the other shrugged, quickly scanning the room to make sure no one was paying attention to them. “I couldn’t help that bit.”

Virgil shook his head, giving his friend a sceptical look. “Just… just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I’ll do my best.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Fighting, injuries, fire, burning, minor character death (mentioned),

A few weeks passed and Roman got a job as a barista at the cafe he and Virgil had visited earlier. He also made a watchlist of possible victims Hellfire might be watching, helped by Virgil. In those weeks, Virgil never stopped voicing his worries, and Roman never stopped brushing those worries off. He took up kickboxing on Fridays, went to the gym for extra training on Monday, and worked in the weekends. He could sneak out to do Creativity stuff in the evenings, and while his life was ridiculously busy, with all of the things he had going on, it was weirdly satisfactory. It made him feel like he was actually achieving something. Like he was actually… getting somewhere with his life, and with this Creativity gig. He was making quick progress in kickboxing training, and he couldn’t wait to see if the lessons paid off in a face-off with his biggest enemy yet. But Hellfire seemed to think differently. They hadn’t shown their face since their latest clash. 

Roman and Virgil got a good mark on their project - much to their relief. Patton and Virgil got to know each other better, the trio started hanging out and talking more, and Virgil kept trying to convince Roman to tell their friend about Creativity. But despite his best arguments, the teenager didn’t budge. 

And in mid-April, that was when Hellfire showed their face again.

During class, of all times they could have chosen. 

It was history class, the Friday before spring break. The students were working on an assignment when Roman felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Out of habit, he checked the notification, and when he saw what it said, he felt his stomach drop. 

It was a tweet, about Hellfire attacking an office, not far from their school. And as expected, they were intent on killing people they believed were in the wrong. Probably the CEO and his right-hand man, as they were on Roman’s watchlist. But that didn’t matter. Roman had to get to the office as quickly as he could. 

“Roman?” Virgil asked him in a hushed tone. “You okay?” 

Roman shook his head, looking at his friend. “Hellfire,” he whispered softly. “I need to stop them.”

“Wha-  _ now _ ? Roman, that’s too dangerous! What if anyone pieces things together?”

“I can’t let anyone else die, okay? I’ll go. Cover for me.” He struggled to keep his voice low enough to keep their exchange silent. Without any other word, he raised his hand shakily. “Miss? I- I don’t feel too well, can I… go to the bathroom?”

Their history teacher, Miss Lane, looked at Roman and dismissed him. The teen smiled thankfully and made his way out of the classroom. But instead of going to the bathroom, Roman made his way to the exit of the school. Making sure no one saw him, he ran out as quickly as he could, transporting himself to the roof of the school, so he could get to the office. It wasn’t too far from school, so he would be there in a few minutes. He just hoped he would be in time. 

Despite Past-Roman’s lessons, Roman slipped his phone into his boot, having no better place to store it. He hoped it would survive this next encounter. Hell, he hoped  _ he  _ would survive. 

Just like he anticipated, it took Roman a bit more than five minutes to arrive. He had to make some risky jumps from roof to roof, but he managed to keep himself in the air with his telekinesis. 

Roman saw a few panicked people in front of the office, talking and making big gestures. He jumped down, and used his telekinesis to show the fall, just enough so he wouldn’t get hurt. He was in a hurry here, okay? He couldn’t afford to lose much time.

“Where’s Hellfire?” he asked as soon as he approached. A young female responded, clearly shaken by the events. She told him they were on the top floor, an office to the far right of the building. 

“The top…” Roman looked up. It was a  _ far  _ way up. Right. He could handle this. “Right. Thank you. I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of time. I need to save lives. Call an ambulance if you haven’t already.”

Without another word, the teen walked away, tense as he felt the minutes ticking away in his mind. It was a long way to the top, and he didn’t have any time. The elevator or stairs would take too long, so he would have to enter from the outside. As he feared he might not make it in standing on the ground, he decided to go up to the roof he just abandoned, and use a grappling hook to go to the other building and make an entrance through the window. He just had to aim right, and hope he chose the right window. The windows were more than big enough for him to get inside without an issue. He just hoped he would get in unscathed. 

When he was standing on the building opposing the offices, he took a deep breath, aiming the grappling hook. “Okay… no pressure. At all,” he sighed. “Here goes nothing.”

He pulled the trigger and watched as the hook gripped onto the edge of the building. Roman pulled a bit, making sure it would stay put. When he was sure, he jumped. 

His telekinesis was needed a bit, to adjust his position, but other than that… he felt confident. He conjured up a small shield to protect his feet as they collided with the window with enough pressure to break through it. Roman released the grappling hook in his hands, flying through the air and... straight into a desk. 

“Well, that sure could have gone more gracefully,” he muttered as he got up. He looked around, seeing he was in an empty office. He cursed softly and walked towards the door, just as voices started screaming from the office next door. Guess that’s where he had to go. 

Roman shook his head and ran out of the door, not hesitating to go to the next office, forcing the door to open. 

“Hellfire,” he called out as he appeared in the door. “Stop what you’re doing right now or I will end it for you.” 

The teen conjured a fire blanket as he saw the flames the villain had shot at the people across the room and used his telekinesis to guide it towards them as he focussed on his opponent, who seemed genuinely surprised to see him there. 

Making a quick decision between fighting the enemy and helping the victims, Roman jumped at his opponent, summoning a shield as he did so - having learned that he could throw some good hits with it. His sword, he abandoned for once. It probably wouldn’t do much against Hellfire anyway. 

The teen leaped forwards and managed to his the side of Hellfire’s face with the shield, before kicking their side right after that. Just one second in, and kickboxing was paying off already. 

He pushed them into the wall and ran towards the two victims, who were honestly horribly burned. It looked agonising. He crouched in front of them, shielding all three of them with his shield. 

“I will keep them occupied,” he told them softly, peeking at the opponent, who was getting up already. “Leave as soon as you can. They should’ve called an ambulance for you. Got it?”

The two men nodded, but didn’t speak up. Roman nodded and turned around, facing Hellfire, who had gotten up and was approaching the three. The office was relatively small, and there wasn’t a lot of place for him to draw Hellfire away, so he had to be smart about it. 

The teen hero looked around, trying to find anything to use to his advantage. And that’s when he noticed it. A book shelf on the side of the office, not far from Hellfire. Perfect. 

He dropped the shield as he focussed his powers on the shelf, feeling its pull on his fingers, but he didn’t do anything yet. He had to wait just a few seconds, for Hellfire to take a few more steps forwards and then…

Roman made a small gesture with his hand, causing the bookshelf to fall down, on top of the villain, who managed to shield themselves partially with their arms. 

“Go,” Roman told the two victims behind him, “I got this.”

Without a second of thought, the teenager ran towards his enemy and kicked them back into the wall, avoiding the books and pieces of wood on the floor. He managed to hit them in the jaw once, but when he wanted to go for another punch, they anticipated this and took a hold of his fist, twisting it as they used Roman’s momentary distraction to switch positions and throw  _ him  _ against the wall. As this happened, Roman saw the two victims disappearing into the hallway, and he felt some relief at this. At least they were out of this mess. 

He managed to duck underneath one punch Hellfire threw at him, and then hooked his foot behind one of their legs and pulled it away. As the villain lost their balance, Roman managed to get away from the wall and jumped for his shield. 

“You might as well quit,” Roman told them as he got to his feet, prepared to jump away if he had to. “It’s over. They’re gone. You can’t hurt them anymore.”

“If it’s over, why are you still here?” Hellfire retorted, and despite the distortion, Roman could swear he heard something- was it mocking? Or was it just… joking? He wasn’t sure, but there was a different tone to the villain’s voice. It was odd. 

The hero chuckled softly, raising his shield. “Because as long as you’re here, it’s not over for me.”

“Then I guess we’ll be here for a while.” 

“Then I guess so.” Roman saw the villain wasn’t planning on doing anything, and it  _ sucked _ , because Roman didn’t want to make the first move either. He was smaller and probably faster than Hellfire, and he wanted to use this against them, but if they weren’t doing anything, maybe he had to be the one to make the first move. But he didn’t want to. “As long as it ends with me kicking your ass.”

Hellfire scoffed. “I would like to see you try.”

“Then you will,” the hero grinned, before jumping forwards. He decided to conjure up a sword to help him in his fight anyway, and swung it at his opponent, who had seen this coming and dodged easily. Roman, on the other hand, had  _ not  _ seen this coming, and stumbled a few steps forwards, until he felt an odd sense of resistance preventing him from going forward. When he realised this, he looked behind him to see Hellfire clutching his cape tightly. 

With a sigh, the teenager lifted his sword and cut through the golden fabric, though not as elegantly as he would have liked. He fell forwards a bit, but regained his balance quite quickly, swiftly spinning around and jumping at the villain. However, Hellfire caught his wrist and punched his jaw with their remaining hand. When Roman stumbled back at this, they struck again, causing the teenage hero to bump into the desk. 

Roman caught himself with his hands and pushed himself forward, ducking just in time to dodge another fist, but was met with a knee to his chest, pushing him back into the desk. His head hit the edge, and the air was knocked out of his lungs, but he couldn’t stop yet. Despite a splitting headache. 

When the teen looked up, he saw the other pointed their arm at him again, and, recognizing the gesture, the hero reached for his shield and protected himself. He felt a strong force pushing against the shield, and for a second, he feared that it wouldn’t survive, but then… it stopped. 

Looking back, Roman saw the desk, and he saw a plan. He focussed his powers on the desk, getting a feel for it first, before hurling the piece of furniture towards his enemy. It wasn’t easy, and it took his a lot of his effort, but he  _ did  _ it. And as he looked up, making sure to lift his shield above his head to protect himself, Roman saw Hellfire managed to shield themselves from most of he damage, though the impact sent them back a few steps. 

Roman got to his feet again, sending some of the broken pieces of wood towards his enemy, though all of those pieces were quickly burned, and the flames extinguished as soon as the wood had disappeared. But it was okay, because Roman didn’t need those pieces of wood to win. He could do this without them. 

Except he couldn’t. Yes, he managed to get a few more hits and kicks in, but no more than a few. After that, Hellfire seemed to know exactly what he was going to do, and acted accordingly, blocking and dodging his hits, before pushing him into a wall. This caused Roman’s vision to blur for a few seconds as his head banged against the wall, feeling like he would pass out. He was unstable for a few seconds, giving the villain a chance to knee him in the stomach and throw him across the room. 

Roman felt a few splinters of wood finding their way into his skin of his hands, where the fabric of his suit was thinner. With a sigh, the teen pushed himself up, his arms protesting. He was just in time to see the villain disappearing into the hallway. 

“Of fucking course,” he groaned, jumping to his feet. Despite feeling like crap, he ran after the other as fast as he could. He made it out of the office just in time to see the elevator doors closing on the other side of the corridor. “Oh, son of a bitch.”

He ran towards the elevators, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to catch the door in time. He just hoped that he would be able to figure out where the villain would go. As he waited, he pressed the down button repeatedly, praying that it would come up quickly, though the other elevator was more than twenty floors down. So that… well, that sucked. 

For a second, Roman considered taking the stairs. But that would face him with more problems. He didn’t know where Hellfire would get off, so missing him would be incredibly easy. On top of that, he was exhausted and walked down all those stairs was not something he was looking forwards to. If he could even pull all that off.

And you know what sucked even more? He noticed that, as he waited, the other elevator had stopped on multiple floors. Which meant that he had no idea where Hellfire would have gotten off. And he couldn’t exactly explore every floor. He would be pretty much guaranteed to miss them. By the time the elevator arrived for him, the other had dropped to the twentieth floor, and it had stopped at least seven times. Roman had no idea where to go.

He stared at the buttons on the wall for a few times, before sighing and choosing to go the the ground floor. There was no way he would find them now. He hated backing out while there was a chance of finding Hellfire, but they could be anywhere by now. He had to know when to give up. And now was the time to give up. 

So, Roman rode the elevator all the way to the ground floor, where he saw a small crowd of people already waiting, curiously looking in. He was not looking forwards to telling them he had lost his enemy. Again.

The teen hero was met with a few people asking questions about Hellfire, about what happened. Despite being tempted to lie, he responded truthfully, telling them that he didn’t know where they went, that Hellfire had left the building. He gave them a quick update what had happened, before asking them - anyone that would know, really - about the CEO and the other guy. A voice told him that an ambulance had taken them to the hospital, where they would be treated. 

“Right,” he nodded, feeling the fight from before catching up with him, “well… that is all I need to know. I’ll be off, then. Thank you guys.”

He summoned a grappling hook and walked away from the crowd, going up to the roof of the building next to the office. Then, he jumped to another roof, and a few after that, before allowing himself to crash. He was exhausted and in a moderate amount of pain. It had been worse, but it had been better, too. 

The first priority was getting out the few splinters that had managed to find their way through the fabric of his suit. Roman used his telekinesis to achieve this, though it was difficult to keep a firm grip on them, due to them being so small. You would think that it would be easy, but it wasn’t. It was easy to lose your grip on them. 

Despite that, he eventually managed, and the teen stretched his sore limbs. There was a vague burning sensation on his jaw, and he knew that it would bruise. So he had to cover that up.

The positive news was that he felt like he could stand his ground better, and he had to thank the kickbox classes for that. And on top of that… he now knew that he could throw a desk with his powers. It had taken a lot of effort, and he was sure he would feel that tomorrow, but he  _ did it  _ and that’s what counts. 

Next, Roman reached for his phone inside his boot. He was glad to see it had survived the fight without any other cracks and he checked the time. It was a few minutes past twelve, he noticed. Lunch break had already started. He decided it might be safe to call Virgil about his experience. And so he did. 

The phone rang a few times before Virgil picked up. “Ro! How are you feeling?”

Roman shrugged. “I guess I’m fine. Could be better, could be worse.” 

“Well, that’s something, at least,” the other responded hesitantly. Roman heard there was something… weird about his voice and frowned. 

“Hey, are you okay? You sound strange.”

“No, no I’m good,” Virgil said hurriedly. “Pat and I are super worried about you, is all.”

Wait. Patton? Did he say Patton?

“Pat’s with you?”

His friend hummed in agreement. “Yeah, he was worried when you didn’t show up during lunch, so he asked me and I… explained you weren’t feeling well and you went to the nurse and that you just wanted to be alone for a bit, and… well he just arrived here. I still have your stuff by the way.”

“Oh, right, yeah.” Virgil was the absolute best friend ever. The fact that he’d lie for Roman to cover up the real reason he left… he was truly amazing. Especially since Virgil wasn’t exactly fond of lying. “Thanks. And tell Pat I’m sorry for not… letting him know, I guess. Didn’t cross my mind.”

“Of course,” Virgil promised. “Anyway, why are you calling? Any reason?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Roman said slowly, stalling to think of what to say. Even if Virgil knew the truth about Creativity, he didn’t want Patton to accidentally overhear part of his conversation. “I wanted to know where you were. I… think I’m feeling better, so I wanted to pick up my stuff and… join you?”

“Yeah, of course!” 

“Awesome! I wanna just eh- sit for a few more moments, but I’ll be there soon, if that’s okay?”

“Of course it is,” Virgil told him. “I’ll let Pat know, okay? We’re outside, by the way, at the table near the football field.”

“Sure thing. I’ll see you in a bit, then.”

They ended the phone call and Roman conjured a bit of foundation, trying his best to recreate the optimal shade for him. Next thing, he got a small mirror. He took off his mask and looked at himself in the mirror. His face was red where Hellfire had hit him, and it already started forming a bit of bruising here and there. He’d have to cover all of that to avoid questions. Which is what the foundation was for. Obviously.

After a few minutes of perfecting it, Roman changed into his own clothing and leaped to the other building, using his telekinesis to help him make the jumps, because his legs were killing him. He continued to school, making sure his friends didn’t see him as he jumped down behind the school building, going to search his friends. 

As it turned out, it wasn’t hard to find them. Because… well, Virgil told him exactly where they would be. The issue was that there were only about ten minutes of lunch left, but… he had food, it would be okay. Hopefully. 

“Hey guys,” he smiled as he walked up to his two friends, who were sat at the table the farthest away from the school. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Roman sat down next to Patton as his other friends greeted him. 

“How are you doing?” Virgil asked, giving his friend a meaningful look. He certainly wasn’t talking about his supposed trip to the nurse. 

“Could be better, but… better than before, I guess,” he shrugged as Virgil put his bag on the table, shoving it towards Roman. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, what happened?” Patton inquired worriedly. “Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”

Roman shook his head, not looking at Patton as he searched his bag for his lunch. “Just… felt super nauseous,” he shrugged. “Like I was gonna pass out, and I- I got dizzy, saw spots and stuff. Nurse said it was probably a- a low blood sugar, so I ate some. It’s better now, I just gotta… eat some more. I’m fine, Pat.”

He looked up as he finally got his food, meeting Patton’s eyes. His best friend was so worried, and he hated having to lie to him, but telling him the truth might be even worse. If anything, it would worry him even more. Turns out balancing a superhero life on top of a normal life wasn’t exactly easy. What a surprise. 

After a bit more chatting and eating, their break was over and they had to head to their next class. Roman and Virgil had to go to English, while Patton had geography. The three of them could walk for a bit before having to go their own way. 

As soon as Patton left them, Roman looked around, making sure it was safe to speak. “Thanks for eh- helping me out there,” he said softly, giving Virgil a smile. “I appreciate it.”

“Oh- oh yeah, don’t worry about it,” Virgil responded, stumbling slightly over his words, and Roman couldn’t help but note how adorable he was. “You obviously need to tell him but… yeah, of course, dude. Eh- how did it go?”

“Kickboxing’s paying off,” he concluded. “But… could be better. I threw a desk at them, though.”

“You threw a  _ what _ ?”

Roman couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle at Virgil’s expression as they stopped in front of their classroom. “With my… y’know.” He made a small throwing gesture with his hand, hoping Virgil would understand he meant his telekinesis, because he wasn’t fully comfortable using that word in public. “It was awesome.”

“Damn.”

They fell silent after that, as more classmates started approaching, and they didn’t think it was wise to continue. Roman noticed the worried glances Virgil gave him when he thought his friend wasn’t looking, though. He wasn’t sure if the ache of his heart was caused by his guilt, or his gayness. 

During class, Roman felt his phone buzzing multiple times, but he never found the time to check it out, no matter how much he wanted to. He figured it wouldn’t have been tweets about Hellfire. They already showed their face once, they wouldn’t show up again, right? 

He really hoped they wouldn’t. 

So, when English was over, Roman finished his final notes, and shoved his notebook back into his backpack, reaching for his phone as quickly as he could. 

“Looks like I’m popular,” he told Virgil with a smile. “Or well… you know who I mean.”

The two of them walked out of the classroom together. While they didn’t share their next class, they could walk together for a bit. Which they obviously did. 

They chatted a bit as Roman checked his notifications, scrolling through a few thankful tweets and responses to those tweets. But then… he stopped in the middle of the corridor, feeling a weird kind of… emptiness? Shock? 

“Ro? What’s up?” He looked up at Virgil, shaking his head as he showed his friend the article someone had just tweeted at him. 

It read:  ** _‘Hellfire strikes again: CEO Carl Wilkens and right-hand man Pete Kroll died on their way to hospital’_ ** . 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Crying, breakdown, panic attack, guilt, lots of feeling bad and sadness going all around

“I… I can’t do this,” Roman said shakily. “I gotta go. I’m sorry.”

He heard a voice calling out to him, but he couldn’t get himself to care. Two people died. Because he wasn’t there soon enough. If he had taken the right window, if he hadn’t hesitated so much… maybe they would still be alive. It was his fault. It was all his fault. 

He pushed past the few students in his way, trying to get outside. Everyone stared at him, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t breathe. He felt like he would explode, he needed to calm down but… but he couldn’t. It was all his fault. He could have saved them. He could have- it was his fault.

As soon as he ran outside, Roman fell to his knees. He felt like he couldn’t breath, but- he had to. He tried to breathe in and out, but it was so hard. It shouldn’t be this hard, why was it this hard? It wasn’t always this hard, right? This wasn’t… normal, was it?

“Roman!” Roman flinched as he heard Virgil calling his name, running up to him. He didn’t know why he did it. He wasn’t scared, it wasn’t loud… he just wanted to be alone. “I read the article.” Virgil crouched down, making sure he wasn’t too close. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s my fault,” he whispered between ragged breaths, feeling the tears burning. “I could have saved them, I could have protected them, it’s all my fault. I was there, but I was too late and now they’re dead and they- I should have been there sooner, I- I...”

“Hey, hey, calm down, okay?” Virgil’s voice was soft and steady, it was nice. “Just… just try to breathe, if you can. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and out for eight. I’ll count with you, okay?”

True to his word, Virgil helped Roman, softly counting and telling Roman when to breathe. “Is it okay if I take your hands?”

Even as panicked as he was, Roman would never say no to Virgil holding his hands. In fact, he wouldn’t say no to anything, probably. He needed the comfort. He was feeling so many things, and he just wanted to latch onto Virgil and never let go, but he didn’t want to seem like a desperate… idiot, or whatever. 

“Okay, listen to me,” Virgil continued, taking Roman’s hands in his. “It is  _ not  _ your fault. You did what you could, and it might suck, but that’s all you could do. You couldn’t help it, trust me.”

“N-no, you don’t- you don’t understand,” Roman stammered, shaking his head. He noticed how badly his hands were shaking, and he absolutely hated it. “I took the wrong window. I- I came in through the wrong window. If I took the right window, I would- I would have been there in time, and they would still be alive, and…” 

“I’m gonna stop you there,” Virgil’s voice interrupted. “It is not your fault, and it never will be, okay? You tried your best to avoid this, and you couldn’t have done anything else. If you weren’t there, who knows what else could have happened? You’re a  _ hero _ here, Roman. It is not your fault that this happened. You can’t protect everyone.”

“I should, though.”

“You shouldn’t. That’s asking too much of yourself. You can’t save the entire world. You’re a sixteen year old kid, and yeah, you’ve got some cool superpowers, but… there’s like… more than seven billion people out there? You can’t save them all. Yes, you can try, but don’t expect yourself to succeed. It will only make you push yourself over your edge.”

Roman looked up at Virgil, still hesitant to look at his friend, with tears rolling down his cheeks, his foundation smudging, he was shaking like a leaf, and he didn’t want to be here, but… 

“You gotta get to class,” he said weakly. “I’ll manage.”

“No way. I’m staying here.”

God, Virgil was the best. Roman knew he didn’t deserve someone this kind and patient, but he was happy that he wasn’t alone. He was happy that someone knew about his secret. He still felt stupid for burdening Virgil with all of this, but he was glad he didn’t have to deal with this alone. 

He managed a small smile, freeing one of his hands to wipe away the tears. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Virgil said, giving Roman the sweetest smile he had ever seen in his life, and he would do anything to see this for the rest of his life. “I’m here for you.”

“I wish I could have saved them,” the teen sighed, giving Virgil’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I know they weren’t the best people, but… that doesn’t mean they des- deserved to die. Nor did any of their victims. Especially not like- like  _ this _ .”

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how agonizing it must have been to be… set ablaze like that. It must have been horrible to die that way. Slow, painful. Not even the worst people alive deserved a death like that. 

“They didn’t,” Virgil sighed, “but… guess not everyone sees it that way.”

Roman gritted his teeth in determination. “I need to stop Hellfire.”

“Maybe you do,” the other said with a slight reluctance. “But first, you need to go home. Tell Patton you didn’t feel well, okay?” Roman started to protest, but Virgil shut him up with a stern glance. “You’re upset. Don’t push yourself. It’s okay to take a bit of time for yourself.”

“Ugh, I hate it when you’re making sense,” Roman groaned. 

Virgil grinned. “Apologies. Now, go home, I’ll take care of it.” Roman nodded as the two got to their feet. “And we’re gonna hang out with the three of us, right?”

“Obviously,” Roman said. “We’ll arrange that later. Good luck in class.”

“Thanks. Don’t push yourself, alright?”

“I’ll try my best.”

The two teens said their goodbyes, Virgil promised he would back him up on this, and Roman left, while his friend rushed back to class. Roman couldn’t believe how  _ amazing  _ Virgil was. Obviously, he knew. There was a reason he was so unbelievably gay for this guy, after all. But he could never have imagined that he would be so supportive and helpful in this superhero gig. Especially because he knew Virgil wasn’t exactly fond of lying to others, and here he was,  _ lying  _ for him. He might not be fully content with Roman doing all of this, throwing himself in danger’s way like this, but he was still so helpful and sweet, and that was more than he could have ever dreamed of. Virgil really was a gem.

Deciding he wanted to be alone, Roman decided to take to the rooftops again. He went back to the highest building to finish the sketch he started a few weeks back. He had never really gotten the time to continue working on it, but now that Virgil practically forced him to skip school, he had two hours to spare, and he trusted he could finish his sketch in that timeframe. Drawing and listening to music might even help him calm down, take his mind off the horrible deaths those people suffered. He turned on some music and texted Patton to tell him that he went home early, not feeling well after all. 

After a few minutes of consideration, Roman felt like Creativity had to acknowledge the deaths of Hellfire’s victims. After all, he  _ had  _ tried to save them, and it hadn’t been enough. It would only be respectful and the right thing to do. He couldn’t just… not mention it and pretend like it didn’t happen. 

Admittedly, it took him a while to make a message that felt right to him. None of them had the right tone. It was either too lighthearted, or too dark, or… not right enough. But finally, after maybe twenty drafts (okay, that is an exaggeration. Nineteen at most), he had a few tweets he felt like he could post. 

** _@Creativity_Official_ **

_ I am devastated to hear the news about Wilkens and Kroll. I hoped I would be able to save them, but it seems I was just too late. Neither of them deserved a fate like the one they were met with. My thoughts are with everyone who knew them _

_ Hellfire can’t get away with this, and I will personally make sure that they won’t. No one deserves this, and I am horrified that someone would do something like this _

_ I am truly crushed that I could not save them, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again. Once again, I am sorry, and my thoughts are with everyone close to them _

After posting them, Roman read over the tweets a few more times, making sure that they were acceptable, and good enough to circulate on the internet. Of course, in the time he had done that, it had been liked and retweeted multiple times, and a few people had responded to it already. People had already seen it, so… he couldn’t… do much more, right?

God, all of this was getting to him. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened, he couldn’t stop thinking about what could have happened if he had been there just… just two seconds earlier. If he had only been a few seconds earlier… he hated this so much. 

He absentmindedly stared at the time on his phone. It was still more than an hour until classes would end, but Roman wished it would be over now. He wanted to talk to Virgil. It had been so… nice to talk about Creativity the few times they had done so, and he really needed someone to talk to right now. So, he texted his friend, asking him if they could talk when school was over, trusting that he would respond whenever he could. 

Then, he started on his sketch. His hands were still shaking, and it was difficult to work, but after a while, he noticed his hands were becoming more steady, and things were becoming more and more easy. The time quickly passed, as Roman listened to his music and worked on his drawing. As he had thought - or hoped - it did distract him, and he did felt somewhat calmer when he stopped to look at the notifications on his phone. Though there was still a feeling on unease that lingered. Far away and weak, but noticeable nonetheless. 

Roman saw he had over one hundred notifications on Twitter, a few worried texts from Patton, and one response from Virgil. School had clearly ended. 

First, the teen responded to Patton, reassuring his friend, telling him he was okay, but that he just felt nauseous and dizzy, and didn’t want to sit through class like that. Next, he responded to Virgil, who had agreed to meet him and asked where to go. Roman didn’t hesitate to tell him to meet him in the square nearby. He wanted to show his friends one of the most gorgeous views he had ever seen. 

Virgil agreed and told Roman he would be there in a few minutes. So Roman stopped his music, cleared up his stuff, and made his way over to the square. He left his bag on the roof, knowing that no one would see it there. As far as he knew, there was no one who could get up here.

The teen jumped from roof to roof, going lower and lower, before dropping himself in an abandoned alley, making sure no one saw him. Then, he slowly made his way towards the square, looking out for his friend.

He found Virgil, sitting on a bench on the other side of the square. So he quickly made his way over, greeting his friend. “Hey,” he said with a careful smile, “how was school?”

Virgil looked up, pocketing his phone. “Hey! It eh- was okay, I guess. How are you?”

Roman shrugged. “I’ve been better, but… been worse too, I suppose.”

“Well, that’s something. You said you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded, “but not here. I… I wanted to show you something. If… you’re not scared of heights.”

“Oh, I eh- not really, I guess,” he responded, rubbing his neck. “I suppose that’s fine.”

As he heard this, Roman lit up, a slight smile playing at his lips as his eyes sparkled slightly. “Awesome,” he grinned as he held out his hand, “come on, let’s go.”

Without hesitation, Virgil took his hand and let himself be pulled along to the alley where Roman had landed a few minutes prior. 

“Okay, I’m going to need you to hold onto me for a bit,” he said, conjuring up a grappling hook. “We’re gonna have to Spider-Man this.”

“Spider-Man it?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, you know… swing around a bit, and… stuff. It made sense in my head, shut up. Just- just wrap your arms around me, and hold on tight.”

Virgil chuckled with a nod. “Okay, okay… is this good?” He wrapped his arms around Roman’s shoulders, obviously awkward with the touch and proximity. 

“Perfect,” the other grinned, his heart speeding up and he gently wrapped his free arm around Virgil’s waist. “Hold on tight, okay? We’re gonna have to do this a few times.”

Virgil nodded as Roman counted down to the moment he’d swing them up. He shot the grappling hook and it carried them up, helped by a fair amount of telekinesis. They repeated this a few times, and Roman noticed Virgil’s tight grip on him as he squeezed his eyes shut. He had to admit that it looked pretty damn adorable. 

When they reached the highest point in town, Roman let go of Virgil’s waist and told him to open his eyes. Virgil obeyed and his eyes widened as he saw the city stretching out before them. 

“ _ Holy fuck _ .”

Roman laughed, grinning at the look of pure awe on Virgil’s face. “I know right,” he nodded, “this is the highest point of the city. You won’t get a better view anywhere else.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

“I know.”

Virgil took a few hesitant steps forwards, careful not to get too close to the edge. “It’s amazing.”

“It is,” Roman agreed as he sat down, patting the ground next to him. “Join me?”

“Why, I couldn’t say no to that,” Virgil grinned, taking a seat next to Roman. They didn’t speak up for a while, and all Roman could think about was how close they were. Oh goodness, they were so  _ close _ . 

“You said you wanted to talk?” Virgil asked after a short silence between them. Roman nodded with a short hum. “So… talk. What’s up?”

“It’s just… I keep thinking about those two people. Wilkens and Kroll. I keep… I know you said it wasn’t my fault, but I still feel bad.” Roman took a deep breath, not looking at Virgil. “It sucks, you know? It’s just that… I just… I wish I could have saved them. That’s why I started this. I started doing- all this because I wanted to save people. And failing just… it… it sucks, okay?”

He felt tears starting to burn in his eyes again, and he quickly rubbed them away, hoping that Virgil hadn’t seen it. But that was in vain. Because of course Virgil would notice it. 

“It’s okay,” he said gently, grabbing Roman’s hand. “I understand. Of course you feel bad about it. It’s… human, I suppose. And it feels shitty, but… it’s okay to be upset. It means that you care. And if you wanna talk, I’m prepared to listen. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“It feels like I have to, though. I mean… I appreciate you being here, don’t think I don’t, but I… you weren’t  _ there _ . You haven’t… I don’t know, you-”

“Don’t know what it’s like?” Virgil filled in. “I know I don’t. But I don’t have to know. I can listen, I can try to help. I don’t have to know what you’re feeling. You just need to talk.”

Yeah, Roman  _ absolutely  _ hated it when Virgil was right. “I guess,” he sighed, “it’s difficult, though.”

“I know,” the other nodded. “But still.”

Roman sighed again, he ran his free hand through his hair and avoided Virgil’s eyes. “Can we just… sit for a moment? It’s actually… quite nice like this.”

“Of course,” Virgil agreed. 

  
Roman smiled and nodded. He looked at the view of the city for a few moments before, in an act of courage he didn’t know he had, leaning closer to the other and leaning his head on Virgil’s shoulder. Virgil tensed up for a few moments, and the other teen was ready to move away, when the other shifted slightly, making it a more comfortable position for the both of them. He even released Roman’s hand to lightly wrap his arm around Roman’s shoulders - but not without making sure his friend was totally okay with this. And obviously Roman was way more than okay with this. He was so unbelievably gay, and he was  _ living  _ for this. No matter that his heart was thumping like crazy and he felt like he resembled a tomato. Everything was calm, and Roman felt like he could finally calm down for a bit. He felt safe like this. And he would prefer to stay here, like this forever. But unfortunately, he knew he couldn’t. They had to go home at some point. It was pure homophobia, he decided as he hugged Virgil, holding onto him for just a second longer. Absolutely homophobic.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: small argument, pushing oneself, unhealthy work ethic

Even though this week was supposed to be a break, Roman… didn’t notice much of it. A lot of his time was spent either working, training at the gym, or patrolling the city. Sure, he spent time at home, with his mother and sister, but he felt way too restless to just… sit down and do nothing. Even if he hadn’t recovered, even if training still hurt his bruised ribs and sore limbs. Every minute he spent doing nothing, felt like a wasted one. Hellfire was still out there, and he needed to do something about it. He hated doing nothing. Especially after two more people died… he had to save the others. He couldn’t let this happen again.

The first time he actually got a break, was on Wednesday, when he had agreed to hang out with Patton and Virgil. They decided to have lunch with the three of them, before seeing a movie they had been excited to see for a while now. And maybe, if they still wanted to see each other, they could get a drink, or go to someone’s house to hang out. 

By the time that Roman arrived, he already saw Virgil and Patton chatting outside of the lunchroom. He stopped for a second, glad to see how comfortable they seemed around each other. And especially Virgil, as Roman knew he didn’t really… talk to a lot of people. Other than himself - and Patton, by now - there was only one person Roman occasionally saw him with. All he knew about them was that they were a senior, and non-binary. But other than them… he had never seen Virgil with someone else. So to see him so at ease around Patton, was- it was great.

With a shake of his head, the teen hero dismissed the thoughts rushing through his mind and walked towards his two friends, greeting them with a grin. He hugged both of them enthusiastically, hiding a wince as he did so. His ribs still hadn’t fully recovered, after all. “Hey you guys!” he called excitedly. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Virgil responded calmly, looking at Roman with a hint of worry in his eyes that only Roman could notice. “You?”

“I’m great,” the other said, not looking at his friend as he did. He didn’t want to have to look Virgil, _ knowing _that he was asking this because of what happened on Friday. “Awesome. How about you, Pat?”

As Roman had hoped, Patton took the opportunity to talk about a family outing they had a few days earlier. The three teens entered the lunchroom and looked for a place to sit, still chatting. Every once in a while, Roman would feel Virgil’s eyes on him, and every time, he would anxiously avoid him. He didn’t want to have to think about Friday right now. 

Throughout their lunch, Roman glanced at his phone every time he got a notification. He was so anxious about Hellfire attacking again. They didn’t have a clear rhythm in their attacks, so literally anything could happen at literally any moment. It was probably the worst feeling ever. Not knowing what could happen, or when. He hated it. He didn’t want to be so invested in all this, but at the same time, he felt so _ responsible _for the sake of the city. He felt like he would let everyone down if he didn’t act. It wasn’t his choice. 

After they finished their lunch, the three teenage boys walked to the cinema. Before buying their snacks, Patton decided to go to the bathroom, just because that would be convenient to the plot. 

Roman glanced at his phone, seeing a few more notifications on Twitter. He opened the app and scrolled through his mentions, luckily not seeing anything urgent. No Hellfire in sight, then. 

He was shaken up when Virgil gently tapped his wrist. “Roman, you should put your phone away,” he said under his breath, making sure no one was around to hear them. 

“But… _ Hellfire _,” Roman protested vaguely. 

“You’re overworking yourself,” the other persisted. “Please, just… relax? And don’t check your phone during the movie, okay?”

“I know,” the hero whined slightly. “I’m sorry, I just… can’t let other people _ die _.”

“I understand, really. But I just want to have a good time with my friends, without you giving your phone more attention than us.”

Ugh. He had a point. He really fucking did. Roman knew that he would have said the same thing if the roles had been reversed, but… the roles weren’t reversed. _ He _was the one making dumb decisions, and not his friend, so of course he was a little biased. If people died while he was watching the movie, he would never stop feeling bad about it, but on the other hand… he did deserve some free time. Some time to relax. After all, when was the last time he really allowed himself to sit back and do nothing? When was the last time he didn’t have to worry about being the hero this town needed? Way too long, that’s when. He needed a break. He deserved it. 

Would he feel bad about it? Oh, he most definitely would. But that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve it. 

“I… suppose you’re right,” he finally sighed, putting his phone on silent mode. “Guess I can take a bit off, right?” 

“Good,” Virgil smiled, making Roman’s heart skip a beat or two. “You don’t have to be on duty 24/7.”

At this, Roman grimaced a bit. “Let’s agree to disagree on that,” he muttered, quickly hiding his slight scowl as he saw Patton approaching again. “Hey Pat!” the teen grinned, voice quickly growing more cheerful again. “Ready to go?”

“You bet!” 

“Hell yeah, let’s go!” 

  


The three teens got their tickets for the movie and grabbed some popcorn and drinks to keep them alive. Roman was quite aware of Virgil trying to get his attention, but he purposefully ignored it, because he was sure he knew what the other wanted to convey to him, and he didn’t want to think about it too much. He didn’t want Virgil non-verbally lecturing him about Creativity, and all that kind of crap. Especially not because Patton was around and he didn’t want his friend questioning their weird behaviour. He just wanted to spend some time with his friends and not think about being a superhero. After all, wasn’t that exactly what Virgil told him to do? 

When they had bought everything they needed to survive a movie, the three walked towards where the movie would be showing. Virgil gently bumped his shoulder into Roman’s, nodding towards Patton as he saw he got his friend’s attention. 

“Yeah, yeah,” the other teen sighed under his breath, knowing fully well what the other was referring to. “Give me some time, dude.”

Virgil gave him one last _ look _ , but dropped the subject after that. Just as well, because Roman was _ not _feeling like a discussion right now. He just wanted to enjoy his time with his friends. And he really didn’t want to worry about how he was going to tell Patton about being Creativity. If he was going to do it. He just wanted to have a normal day for once, was that so much to ask?

After the movie was over, the three of them decided to stick together as they walked through the town for a bit. Talking about the movie, and really anything that came up in their minds. Until Virgil finally decided that it was time for him to go back home. 

“Oh, of course, V!” Patton nodded. “I’m glad you could come, though.”

“Me too,” Virgil nodded, giving Patton a shy smile. “It was… it was nice. We should do this more often.”

Patton was quick to agree and Roman obviously couldn’t resist. This was Virgil they were talking about, okay? He was a gay mess for this dude. Of course he would agree to something like this. He really was a mess. 

"So," Patton smirked as soon as Virgil was out of earshot, "you and Virgil, huh?"

Roman rolled his eyes, gently nudging the other. "Shut up," he hissed, suppressing a smile at Patton's obvious... _ Patton _ behaviour. "We're friends, is all. No need to read into it too much."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

"And besides, it's not like it could become... something. I don't think he even likes me like that, so..."

Patton didn't say anything. He just nodded and gave Roman a look that indicated he _knew_ something. But obviously, he wouldn't give away what it was, and it never ceased to irritate the other. How was he supposed to understand what it meant if Patton didn't tell him? It was rude and homophobic, that's what it was. Roman and Patton walked to the bus stop as they talked. They had to take the bus for a little more than ten minutes and then walk to Patton’s house for almost ten more. All that time, Roman didn't even think of Creativity or Hellfire. For a moment, he was just a regular teen again; something he hadn't been in about a year. It was nice. He needed a day like this. A day to just relax without having to worry about the terrible weight he put on his own shoulders. Creativity and Hellfire didn't exist. Just Roman Palmer and his best friend Patton Audel.

“Okay but seriously,” Patton started as he dropped on the small couch in his bedroom. “You can't tell me there's nothing going on with you and Virgil.”

“But there's not!” Roman insisted, sitting down next to his friend.

“Oh come on, I've seen you two! I've seen your secretive eye-conversations!”

“Our- our _ what _?” 

“You know- when you look at each other, and you don't talk, but you still have a conversation,” Patton explained simply. “And besides, I saw you two being sneaky when I went to the bathroom. I'm on to you.”

Roman chuckled with a shake of his head, feeling some kind of tension somewhere, but he decided that he wasn't going to give in to it. “That's nothing, Pat, really. I really like Virgil, but I don't wanna… screw this up.”

Patton gave his best friend an empathic smile, seeing that he was telling the truth here. “I don’t think you will, though,” he shrugged. “Virgil really likes you too.”

“Does he really _ like _-like me, though?”

“If you ask me… yeah, he does!”

Roman faced his friend with a sceptical look on his face. “Do you really think that, or are you saying that just to be nice?”

“No, no, I really do think that!” Patton exclaimed with a shake of his head. “He really cares about you, Ro, and he really likes you. I think... you might have a chance.” 

Huh. Roman wasn't sure how to interpret this. Patton was a sweetheart, and he was always good at reading people, but what if he was just saying this to make Roman feel better about himself? What if he was seeing this because it's what he _ wanted _ to see? There is no way to describe just how badly Roman wanted this to be true, but… was it? He was too afraid to say yes. 

“Really? That… would be nice.”

Patton smiled fondly as he saw a careful smile appear on Roman's face. “Hey, you're a great guy! Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Aw, Pat,” Roman grinned, slightly elbowing his friend. “You're the best, you know? I love you so much.”

“And I love you!” Patton exclaimed in return, a big smile on his face. He always was adorable and excitable, something Roman loved so much about him. He could always cheer someone up if they felt bad. How he did it, Roman didn't know. But he really appreciated his friend being there.

The two of them talked for a while longer, before Roman decided it was really time to go home. He wanted to spend a little bit more time with his family tonight. He had deserved a day off, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t even feel like he _ had _to patrol the city tonight. He deserved a day off tonight. 

A few days later, Roman had gone to the gym. Again. Quite honestly, he was bored, and he felt like doing some training would be a good way to spend the day. It was fun, it could help improve his fighting, and his condition. 

He was practicing a few punches and kicks on the punching bag in the gym at the time. There was no one there, which was the main reason that it caught him off guard when someone started talking to him.

“Your mom said I might find you here,” a voice spoke behind him. “Said you’d been spending most of your free time at the gym.”

Roman stopped what he was doing to turn around and look at the newcomer, stopping the punching bag with one of his hands. “Yeah, well…” He stopped to take a breath. They were still alone. Good. “I need to get better.”

“You need to take a break,” Virgil told him sternly, yet with a gentleness in his eyes.

“Hellfire doesn’t take a break either,” he countered with a shrug, walking away to grab the bottle of water he’d brought. “They’re still out there. I need to get better if I want to stop them.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself.” Virgil followed him, making sure to look around to be certain no one else was here. “You need to take your time, and-”

“And let them kill more people?” Roman scoffed. “No way. The sooner I can fight them, the better. I can’t let them take any more lives, Virgil.”

Virgil sighed. Roman was way too stubborn to argue with, and here he was, trying to do it anyway. He must be the biggest dumbass in the world to even try this.

And he still did.

“Maybe you’re… maybe you’re in over your head,” he shrugged, watching his friend as he put down the water bottle. “Maybe you need to let this go.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “And then what? Who else is going to stop them? We’ve been over this! The police aren’t a match for them, with their powers, and I haven’t seen any other heroes out there trying to bring them down.” He ran his hands through his hair as he paced the room. No matter how often they had this discussion, there was no way in hell that he would stop until he had defeated Hellfire. And if he would die before he could… well, then so be it.

“Well, then tell me this: how often have they kicked your ass? How often did you come to school, all bruised, and even _ worse _? How many injuries did they cause and how bad were they? I hate to say this, but they’re too strong for you, Ro. They’re a better fighter than you, and I don’t want you to get yourself killed.”

“I know they’re too strong,” Roman said calmly. “That’s why I’m training. I need to do this, Virgil. The city is counting on me. If I stop now- they won’t stop until every criminal is dead. And I can’t let that happen.”

“Okay,” Virgil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Then you don’t. But even then, pushing yourself to your limit isn’t going to benefit anyone! If you push yourself too far, you’ll just put yourself at a disadvantage! It won’t get you anywhere.”

“Virge, please.” Roman’s voice got softer, gentler. “I know what I’m doing. Just… let me do my thing, okay?”

Virgil doubted that his friend knew what he was doing, but he let it go. Roman was too stubborn for a discussion like this. He was going to work himself to the limits like this, and Virgil didn’t want to see him going too far, but he also knew that convincing Roman to stop would be one hell of a job.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Do whatever. But please… take care of yourself.” He started to take a few steps back. “And you need to tell Patton about Creativity, too. Or I will. He’s worried about you. And I want you to know that if he asks me about it, about your injuries… I won’t lie to him. I can’t. I really can’t keep this up.”

With these words, Virgil left Roman behind, and the teen stared at the punching bag before him. He knew he had to tell Patton at some point. It would be better if he would be the one to tell it instead of Virgil. He probably had to tell his mom too, but he just… couldn’t. Both of them would be worried sick. And on top of that, his mom might try to keep him inside, away from danger. And there was no way that he would be able to stay inside. Especially with all the danger out there.

No, he couldn’t tell her. Lying to her was way better – however backwards that sounded. He didn’t want to risk it. But Patton… okay, maybe telling him wouldn’t be _ as _ bad. But did he _ want _to tell Patton? He wasn’t sure. His friend would be worried sick. But then again… he always worried.

And then there was the fact that Roman… didn’t want to tell Patton the truth. It was probably dumb of him to say this, but he really wasn’t looking forwards to having this conversation. It was like coming out all over again, except instead of coming out as gay, he had to confess that he was the superhero protecting this city, the one who put himself in danger, just to save others. Yeah, that… that was terrifying. And that was coming from the guy who had repeatedly faced a villain with the ability to manipulate _ fire _. No, he… he’d have to think about it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, fire, attempted murder, injuries, mentions of abuse

A few more weeks had passed, and Hellfire had been suspiciously quiet. Nothing happened. Not one attack. Nothing. Not that Roman was complaining about that; the longer they kept quiet, the longer he had to train and to recover from his injuries. And it also gave him the time to think about his opponent’s next move. And when he saw an article online, he knew exactly what would happen. 

About halfway through May, the mayor would be speaking at a public event, closing a charity event the city had organised earlier to raise money to help survivors of abuse. The most hypocritical thing in existence, given all the people accusing him of abusive behaviour. Emotional, physical, sexual… you name it. It was as if he was trying to make people forget about those accusations by helping charities. Extremely suspicious, if you asked Roman. And Hellfire had already tried to kill the mayor once. They would be an idiot if they passed up an opportunity like this one. And Roman was pretty sure they were too clever to stay at home. But this time, if they decided to show up… Roman would be ready for them.

The teen was present long before the event actually started. He kept an eye out for anything suspicious, anything that might lead him to Hellfire. The hero was confident that his nemesis would attack today. It was a perfect opportunity to try to kill the mayor. Roman had seen enough crime and superhero movies to know how villains worked. And even if Hellfire wouldn't strike today, it was better to stay vigilant than to just brush it off. Because Roman knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he would allow Hellfire to kill any more people than they already had. The teen hero had landed on the roof of the city hall, where he could easily see everything going on behind him. People were setting up the stage where the mayor would speak later that day, putting chairs in place, and working out the tech needed. So far so good. No one seemed out of place or suspicious. A little past noon, everything was set up and the crew took a short break, which gave Roman the time to rush to the nearest supermarket and buy himself a salad and a drink for lunch - but not before changing out of his suit, which he nearly forgot. Next thing, the teen jumped up to the roof of the city hall again, summoning a fork to eat his salad with. He watched the first people arriving, looking around nervously before some staff members arriving to guide them to their seats. The event started at one o'clock, just as planned. After a brief introduction, the mayor stepped up and started his speech. Roman listened with half an ear as he searched the crowd, street, and rooftops for someone in a black suit. He found nothing, until just before the mayor reached his conclusion. Just behind the crowd, there was movement. Someone in a black suit. They looked around before sneaking around to gain a good angle. And before Roman had time to respond, they shot a ball of blue fire at the mayor. Knowing he had no time to make anything to protect the mayor, the teenage hero knew there was only one thing he could try. In a split second, he held out his hand - dropping the nearly finished salad in the process - and focused all his telekinetic powers on the blue fire, hoping to stop it. The crowd gasped and ducked away as the ball of fire flew over their heads, but then... it stopped inches short of the mayor's face. Roman locked eyes on his arch enemy, who looked around in confusion, and smirked as he jumped down, catching himself with his telekinesis.

"Not today, Azula," he taunted as he sent the fireball back at Hellfire, who made it dissolve just before it could hit. Behind him, security guards ran up to the mayor to get him out of the line of (literal) fire, while Roman shielded them. The crowd cheered at Roman's appearance, and honestly, could there be a better feeling than that? 

"Look, you might as well give up," he continued, jumping off the stage and walking closer to his enemy. "I'm not going to let you get away with this."

"I’m surprised you're still trying," the villain retorted simply. 

Roman smirked, summoning a shield and sword. "I won't stop until you're behind bars," he shrugged before running towards the villain, kicking them in the stomach. The villain tripped over a few loose cobblestones and lost their balance. Roman saw his chance and jumped at them, ready to knock them out or get them arrested. 

But before he could, Hellfire grabbed both of his wrists, clicking something around them that the teen quickly realised were black cuffs. The very same they had used on the banker the night of their first meeting. As soon as Roman tried to pull his wrists farther apart than the cuffs would allow, they delivered a surprisingly strong shock. The teen flinched, and the next moment, he found himself being slammed into the ground as Hellfire jumped up, probably planning to take their leave. But Roman wouldn't let them get away that easily. 

He rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself up with his hands as he focussed his powers on Hellfire, telekinetically tripping them. As they struggled with their balance, Roman jumped up. Even with his arms cuffed together, he could still fight. It was more tricky, but definitely not impossible. 

Keeping his balance proved to be more of a challenge, but it was doable. Hellfire had managed to stay on their feet and turned to face Roman, mumbling something to themselves about ‘having to fix that’. The teen aimed a roundhouse kick at Hellfire’s chest, but finally went for the stomach, as he found that he couldn't maintain his balance as well with his hands together like this. 

When his opponent doubled over, Roman found that these cuffs might come in handy anyway. He placed his hands on either side of their head; the little chain between them a perfect tool to hold their neck in place and pull them down at the same time that he brought his knee up. He aimed for the chest mostly, finishing off with a roundhouse kick.

As Hellfire fell back, they grabbed the cuffs around Roman’s wrists and they managed to throw him to the side. Roman felt the restraints disappearing as he fell down. Which came in handy, because with his hands free, he had room to catch himself. Sort of, because he still couldn’t stop himself from hitting the side of a nearby building. 

The teen groaned as he pushed himself up, practically feeling the bruises appearing on his shoulders and back. “You need to stop throwing me into stuff,” he commented weakly as he got up. 

Hellfire chuckled as they got to his feet as well, the distortion making it sound menacing and just plain creepy. “You might want to stop getting in my way.”

“I’ll stop getting in your way when you stop killing people.” 

The remark caused another taunting chuckle from the villain, but it didn’t seem to be worth another comeback. Roman was wasting his best lines on this guy. Did they have no understanding of how long it could take to think of something badass to say? Horrible. 

Despite his annoyance, Roman lunged at his opponent and tried to kick at their legs, but they jumped back. But, the teen hero didn’t let that stop him and he looked around, quickly spotting a small plastic bin next to the crowd, placed there to contain the litter the event’s attendees would produce. It wasn’t attached to anything, and it didn’t seem so big or heavy that it would cause serious damage on impact. He focussed all his telekinesis on the object and threw it at Hellfire as quickly as he could, hitting them right in the face. Not… his best aim. He was going for the chest.

The villain stumbled back, clearly off balance, and Roman lunged at them, managing to get a few hits in, but just as he went in to pin them to the ground, they caught up, quickly blocking his kicks as they pushed him back. 

“Come on,” the hero groaned as he jumped out of the way of their next attack. “Can’t you go easy on me this one time?”

“I am afraid I can’t do that.” It sounded as if the alterating device Hellfire used to mask their voice seemed to falter slightly. The distortion in their voice faded out for a second, but not long enough for Roman to hear their real voice. Not until the device actually seemed to give up. “My apologies.”

For a moment, the teen froze. He knew the voice behind that snarky comment. It belonged to Logan Macauley. He was quite sure of that. He had spent more than enough hours in his class to recognize his voice. How was that even possible? How was he... 

The teenager had been so taken aback by this revelation that he didn’t see his nemesis coming up to him and preparing a weapon. He didn’t see the small spike-like objects shooting out of the man’s uit, not until it was too late to dodge the punch Hellfire aimed at his chest.

As the villain pulled his fist back, Roman felt a sharp sting, like a knife piercing his chest. Except the pain seemed to spit out a venom that paralysed his muscles. And for a bit, he really felt like that was the case. His legs felt weak and it got harder to breath for a second as he collapsed on the ground.

Creativity wheezed, struggling for breath as he saw the figure of his teacher leaving. It was mister Macauley. Logan. Oh God, his arch nemesis was his fucking teacher. It felt so surreal, like some twist in a comic book, or a movie. But not his actual life. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen in real life!

The teen tried to push himself up, so he could get home, but he felt weak. _ Too _weak for this. His hands were shaking, and the muscles of his arms seemed to refuse to work. So that… wouldn’t work. Clearly. He couldn’t even push himself up. Every time he tried, his hands slipped away again.

Luckily, the shock hadn’t affected his powers, and Roman used his telekinesis to get his phone out of his boot. And as he did so, the teen noticed his hands where shaking so bad that it proved to be somewhat of a challenge to actually select the right number to call. He was feeling dizzy and shaky, and the pain in his chest drowned out the stinging in his hands and knees, or any other pain he might be feeling at that point. 

As he had selected Virgil’s contact, Roman put the phone on speaker, not having the energy to put it to his ear.

“Please pick up,” he whispered weakly. “Please pick up, please pick-”

“Roman?”

_ Thank goodness. _

“Virge...” God, his voice sounded awful and creaky. Almost as unstable as he felt.

“Ro? What’s up?” Virgil was worried. Roman heard it in his voice. He was worried sick. “I saw a video on Twitter, are you okay?”

“I… no, I- can you pick me up?” he murmured, his brain a mess as he tried to push himself up again. “I can’t get up, I- I can’t get up.”

He shook his head, he tried to dismiss the fact that he was terrified. He had no idea what Hellf- _ Logan _ had done to him. What if he would be stuck like this? What if he would never get his strength back? What if he never could do anything again?

“What? Where are you?” The worry in Virgil’s voice was now mixed with evident panic. From the sounds of it, he had gotten up and he was running downstairs, softly telling his parents something Roman could not quite catch.

Roman slowly told Virgil where he was, making sure the other would get it. He didn’t want to be laying around here for any longer than he had to. 

“Okay, okay, I got it,” Virgil said. Roman vaguely heard a door slamming. “I’ll see if we can get Patton’s car, be there as soon as I can.”

Roman frowned. That didn’t sound right. “Wait, Pat?”

“Look, I told you I wouldn’t lie to him if he asked, and...”

Of course. Because it really was Virgil’s place to tell him. Okay, Virgil _ had _said he would, that was true. But somehow, a part of him hadn’t exactly realised that he was serious about it. He thought it was just a threat, something to motivate Roman, to make him want to tell it himself. 

He opened his mouth to reprimand his friend, but he was in too much pain, and he didn’t want to stall any longer. “Oh, great,” he sighed softly as he saw people carefully gathering, curious to see what had happened here. “Please just… make sure you get here soon? I think I’m attracting an audience.”

“I’ll do my best,” Virgil promised. “Be careful.”

Roman scoffed. “I'll try.”

After that, Virgil ended the call, and Roman was back to trying to get up. He heard people chattering, they were gathering around the square, looking at the damage the two enemies had caused, looking at the hero who still had trouble getting up.

“What happened?” shouted one voice to him.

“Are you okay?” another called out.

“Was it Hellfire?” a third asked.

Roman didn't respond.

He could feel his heart beating, every pulse painful. His limbs seemed numb, but at the same time... not. His head was spinning and he felt like he could throw up, or pass out. Or both. He’d rather not do either of those.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before he heard a car honking. The noise was incredibly loud, but the people that had gathered stepped aside, allowing room for a car Roman would quickly recognize as Patton’s. Or- his mom’s, actually.

The car stopped in front of him and Roman heard a door opening and slamming shut, followed by hurried footsteps. Patton quickly came into his view, face hidden by the hood of his coat.

“Hey, hey, I’m here,” he whispered, crouching in front of his friend. “Think you can stand?”

Roman shook his head, trying to push himself up one more time. But his arms were too weak. “I… I can’t.”

“That’s okay, I’ll help you,” Patton said gently, taking Roman’s hands. He got up, pulling Roman along with him, and swung an arm around Roman’s waist as soon as he could. Then, he brought his friend back to the car and helped him get in before sitting down next to him. “Okay we’re good to go!”

Despite the fact that his brain seemed to work at half its capacity, Roman had not forgotten about the rules of safety, and he tried to fasten his seatbelt. However, as he tried this, he stumbled upon a few issues. First of all: twisting his body like that hurt like hell. Second, grabbing onto the thing itself proved to be difficult as fuck, as his hands seemed to had lost a significant portion of their power. And last but not least, the claw-like objects protruding from his chest. Very clearly the things Hellfire - his fucking chemistry teacher for fucks sake - used to hurt him. 

He pulled back with a soft hiss, and despite him trying his best to stay calm, this worried both of his friends. Virgil glanced in the rearview mirror, keeping an eye on his friend, as Patton scooted closer. “Roman, are you okay?”

“Peachy,” the hero answered through gritted teeth, leaning back against the backrest. 

“What are…?” Patton didn’t finish, but instead just pointed at the tiny claws Roman had noticed seconds prior. 

“I don’t know,” the other said with a shake of his head. “Something he used to… I don’t know. Shock me? Whatever he did.”

Patton nodded, eyeing his best friend with worry. This was… a lot to take in. First he learns that his friend was a superhero. Then, he’s told that said friend had gotten badly hurt and they needed to pick him up. And now… _ this _.

Roman smiled as the three of them fell silent. “Thank you guys,” he said weakly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“No problem, Ro,” Virgil responded kindly, not taking his eyes off the road. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Yeah! We’re here for you,” Patton nodded with a kind smile as he gently grabbed one of Roman’s shaking hands. He noticed how cold it was, and covered it with his other hand as well. “What happened back there?”

Roman shook his head. “I don’t- I don’t know… he… shocked me, I think? But it was… way, way worse. And… he- Macauley… he…”

The teen had trouble making a coherent sentence at this point. His thoughts were so jumbled and messed up, and it was nearly impossible to make sense of it himself. He barely even understood what had just happened to him.

Virgil raised an eyebrow, risking one brief look at his friend. “What? He was there?”

“Yeah… Hellfire, he- he was… Macauley.”

“You mean that he- Macauley is Hellfire?” Patton asked, taking a shooting the hero a questioning look. “Are you sure?”

Roman nodded. “I broke his… his voice altering… _ thing _. I heard him.”

“Holy fuck,” Virgil breathed as he stopped in front of a traffic light. “So… he’s been Hellfire all along?”

“Guess so,” Creativity responded. “Makes sense. He knew who I was before, so… guess he… recognized me?”

“Wait- wait for a second. He _ knew _?”

“Yeah. He called me Roman once… a while back.”

“Oh my-” Virgil sighed, starting up the car again as the traffic light turned green. “You really are a dumbass.”

Roman scoffed - something which hurt immensely. “I know.”

The last minute or so, Patton gave Virgil the instructions to get to his house, and not much later, they pulled up in front of the Audel residence. Patton had explained that his dad was off to work, and his mother was trying to do a spring cleaning in the attic, so they would probably be pretty safe in trying to get Patton to his room unseen. They could make up an excuse later. 

As the car drove into the garage, Roman realised that he was still wearing his Creativity suit. With a snap of his fingers, he changed out of that and into something more comfortable; sweatpants and a red and black flannel that he left unbuttoned so it wouldn’t put too much pressure on the claws in his chest. It still hurt every time the fabric brushed past them, though. 

“Okay, here we are,” Patton said as they drove into the garage, turning to his incapacitated friend. “Think you can get out?”

“I have to try,” Roman grunted. He did feel better than he did when he was laying on the ground, but… he definitely wasn’t back to full strength. He was still shaking, and dizzy, and he still felt like he could pass out. 

“Alright, well, I’m here if you need help.” Patton opened the door and got out, waiting for his friend to do the same. Roman put his feet on the floor and pushed himself up. He was wobbly and nearly fell over, but… he was standing.

“Okay… this… this works,” he said slowly. I might need help getting to your room, though.”

“Of course,” Patton nodded. He had already hurried over to his friend as he stumbled, and quickly grabbed one of his arms, as Virgil got the other. Together, they helped Roman up the stairs to Patton’s bedroom, making sure to avoid his mother, so they didn’t have to answer any weird questions. 

When they finally made it to Patton’s room, Virgil guided Roman to the bed, as Patton closed the door for maximum privacy. “Okay,” Patton breathed as he closed the door. “Where did you get hit?”

“A lot of places,” Roman scoffed, reaching up to his jaw. He was pretty sure a bruise was forming already. He’d have to summon some makeup for that. “But the shock thing was only my chest.”

Patton nodded, approaching his friend.. “Can you take off your shirt? I’d like to have a look.”

Roman bit back a stupid response to the question – which indicated just the place he was in – and nodded, taking off his flannel, like Patton had asked. Even this cost effort. Way more than he would have liked.

As soon as he took off his shirt, he heard Patton gasp, looking at his chest with wide eyes. At the same time, Virgil muttered something under his breath. Roman frowned and asked his friends what was going on. He then looked down, and saw exactly what they did.

The spot where Hellfire had shocked him, close to his heart, was fiery red. It looked nearly inflamed, extending to the veins around the area, but then gradually faded away.

_Oh._

So that’s why it hurt so much. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Pain, injuries, I think that's all

“That… does not look good,” Patton stammered. “Does it- does it hurt?”

“I mean… I feel my heartbeat, which pretty fucking hurts, but… the spot itself doesn’t. Or… not as much.”

Patton slowly edged closer. “And… this?” He carefully brushed his fingers over the red skin, and Roman shot backwards, hissing in pain as a shockwave much like the initial shock travelled through his body. The sudden movement only increased the ache he felt, but it faded away as quickly as it had come up.

“Holy fucking- Patton… do me a favour and never touch that again, fucking hell.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” the older teen said softly, pulling his hand to his chest. “Doesn’t it hurt, though? It’s burning hot.”

Roman frowned. “No? I don’t feel anything. Well… no… heat, I suppose.”

Patton hummed in confusion, trying to figure out what exactly this… thing was. They all were. It looked serious enough, but none of them knew what it was, what Logan had done, and what it  _ would  _ do. 

“I think we should focus on getting these… claw… things out?” Virgil suggested carefully, as if he was afraid that the thing he was suggesting was ridiculously stupid. And maybe it was, as none of them really knew what they were dealing with here. They were just guessing. The claws could even self-destruct as they tried to get them out. A little extreme, but still an option. Sort of. 

Roman nodded, raising a shaking hand. “I got this,” he muttered, focussing on pulling one of the four claws into his hand with his telekinesis. What he wasn’t exactly prepared for, was just how painful that was. Because it was. It hurt so much more than the initial shock had. It was as if he felt every single movement the object made hurt him, and it felt horrible. But, by the time it finally fell into his hand, at least a bit of his agony had been relieved. Only a tiny bit, though. “Oh, fuck, fuck.” He rested his head against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. “That hurt.”

“Are you sure you can manage?” Patton asked worriedly. “I can get the tweezers from the bathroom, if you’d prefer.”

“No, no, I can do this,” the hero breathed stubbornly. “Just three more. I can do this.”

He had to admit that it would probably be easier if someone else just pulled them out, but he didn’t want to risk anything. They didn’t know what these things were, and if one of these claws would break off… who knows what might happen? No, this was safer. Way more painful, but safer.

It was nearly excruciating, but Roman did not want to admit this. He was way too stubborn for his own good, after all. But finally, he had pulled all three remaining claws out of his chest and he dropped them on Patton’s nightstand. 

“Well.. that makes it slightly better,” he sighed, resting his head on Virgil’s shoulder. He felt better, but only slightly. He was still dizzy and his hands were cold and shaking. The claws had left behind small puncture wounds that were bleeding - only slightly, which was remarkable given their position near is heart. The teens were too scared to bandage it right now. Or at least, Roman was. Touching the area was painful enough. Putting pressure on it would only make it worse. Maybe it would be better after a while, and they would be able to clean it up. Part of the pain had already subsided, and he didn’t feel his heartbeat as prominently anymore. So that was something. But it still hurt. 

“How are you feeling?” Patton asked carefully, kneeling in front of his friend. “Do you need anything?”

Roman shook his head. “I think I just gotta sit down,” he answered weakly. “But thank you. And... thanks for helping. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, I… was scared I guess.”

“Don’t worry, Ro,” his friend said in that sweetly reassuring voice of his. “I get it. It’s okay.” 

Patton was way too sweet. It was almost unbelievable just how sweet and helpful and understanding he was. Roman certainly did not deserve a friend this good. “But still-”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Patton repeated. “There’s other stuff to worry about. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Better,” the teen hero nodded. “Still hurts, but… less. So yeah.”

It still hurt, and he could still feel his heartbeat more than he normally should. He was still dizzy and shaking, but at least it didn’t feel like he was dying anymore. At least he didn’t feel like passing out or throwing up. This was something he could deal with. This was bearable. It wasn’t pleasant, but it also wasn’t an agonizing hell, so he considered that a little victory for himself. 

For the time that followed, Roman tried his best to tell Patton everything he needed to know, helped by Virgil. The hero wasn’t thrilled that Virgil took it upon himself to tell Patton about this secret, but on the other hand… he knew that Virgil didn’t have any mal-intent. He knew that  _ he  _ wouldn’t have done it himself. And Patton took it so well. Yes, he worried, but that was only natural in a situation like this. He seemed to be excited at the same time, and he immediately offered to help, without hesitating. It was weird, but not necessarily bad. And besides, Roman couldn’t be angry with Virgil. It was  _ Virgil _ , for fuck’s sake. This guy was incredibly cute; he would forget all his anger as soon as he looked at him. It was probably for the best anyway. All this lying stuff was getting more and more difficult, so at least he would have one less problem to worry about when it came to that. 

“Geez, so that’s your chemistry teacher, huh?” Patton commented as the two had finally caught him up on everything Creativity-related. 

“Yup,” Roman nodded, popping his ‘p’. It was still crazy to think that his teacher was a murderer. He still didn’t really seem to believe that it was… real. Logan didn’t seem like the type to just… murder people? This couldn’t be real. How could his chemistry teacher be his nemesis? A murderer? What are the odds, huh? “And now we just need to find a way to stop him.”

Which, by the way, seemed more impossible with every battle he lost. Roman wouldn’t tell his friends that, but it sucked. He could handle losing a battle or two, that was fine, but… he wasn’t sure there  _ was  _ a way to defeat Hellfire. It seemed like he upgraded his suit every time he met. Whether it was a better armouring, or new tech. He had something new every single time Roman saw him, and it was getting difficult to keep up with him. If there even was a way that he could beat this guy… he wasn’t aware of it. 

“I’m sure we’ll find a way,” Patton encouraged. “We can help you! We got this, Ro.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” Roman said with a weak shake of his head. “I don’t want to put you guys into danger.”

“I’m willing to take that risk,” the other shrugged. “I can’t let you do this by yourself.”

Virgil quietly agreed, and Roman sighed, knowing full well that there was no way to change their minds. It was two against one here; he was outnumbered. How was he supposed to fight  _ that _ ? Admittedly, it felt bad dragging his friends into all of this. It felt like something he had to do by himself. But maybe he needed their help to defeat Hellfire. It would be nice having people to confide in. This didn’t take away that it felt like shit, but if they insisted… how could he say no to that?

“Fine, if you’re sure…” he sighed. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The three of them went over everything they knew about Hellfire, made a few notes on this and tried to figure out the best way to attack. It didn’t take long for them to come a conclusion similar to the one Roman had before: they needed to get rid of the tech. It gave Logan a big advantage, and if he wouldn’t be able to use his weapons, maybe it would even out the odds a little. It would at least give Roman less to worry about. They had no idea how they would ever pull that off, as none of them had the ability or the resources to make anything even close to the gadgets Logan had created for themselves. But they had time. Maybe together, they would be able to come up with a proper plan. 

“Say, Ro…” Patton asked after a while, looking up from the doodle on the paper he tore from his notebook. “I have to ask. How did you get your powers?”

Virgil looked up as well, intrigued by the question he had always been too anxious to ask himself. At least someone had asked, because he was honestly just as curious about it. 

“Honestly? I’m not sure,” the hero responded with a sheepish look. “I have suspicions, though. You remember when we had that field trip with chemistry last year and I told you about that supper secret and important experiment they were doing?”

Patton hummed and Virgil nodded as well - though he obviously knew about this firsthand, since he was there as well. 

“Okay, good. So, they briefly told us about those experiments,” he continued. “It was some sort of.. I don’t know, particle they found somewhere in the ground. The- the i-particle, I think they called it. It had affected the area around it, and released insane amounts of some radiation they didn’t recognize. It was sort of… like it was radioactive, I guess. So they had this particle there, and they were experimenting on it to try an find out what it was. They showed us some of it during the field trip. And I… may or may not have sneaked away from the group afterwards to check that out again.” 

Virgil raised an eyebrow, eyes widening. “You did  _ what _ ? That’s why you disappeared?”

“Yeah, it- it just… looked so cool, I guess? I just wanted to look at it some more,” the teen hero explained with a shrug. “There was this glowing element in a small tube, sort of… purplish. People were running some experiments on it, and it just- I don’t know, it looked so awesome and interesting. I talked to some of them about it, and stuff. But… yeah, I think that must have been it, because I found out about my powers a few weeks later, and that seemed to be the only significant happening around that time. I don’t know how it happened, but that’s all I know.” 

“Oh yeah, I remember that all too well,” Virgil commented with a soft scoff. “Macauley nearly freaked out when he found out you were gone. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him like that before.”

“Really, he freaked?”

“Dude, we lost a student in a lab filled with potentially dangerous experiments and equipment, of course he would fucking freak out.” 

Okay, yeah… that sounded fair. It just sounded funny for some reason. Roman had never really seen his chemistry teacher freaking out, so it was a weird thought to picture him like that, to be fair. “Guess that adds up, though,” he realised as he thought back to that day. “Macauley was the one who picked me up again. That must have been when he got his powers as well, right?”

“Guess so.”

Roman never really thought about that. About how Hellfire had gotten his powers. He realised that there must have been something, but it was never something he actively considered. It just… felt normal for some reason. Just like how his powers started feeling normal to him. They were a part of his life at this point, and it only seemed normal that other people had powers themselves. It was only fair, right? 

“I wonder if there’s any other people with powers,” Patton thought out loud. “I mean… it would make sense, right?”

“Yeah, probably,” Roman nodded. “I don’t believe that we’re the only two with powers. No one else has shown themselves yet, but I don’t think we’re alone. I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Maybe we’ll meet others one day.”

“Possibly. Who knows?”

After a few more discussions, Roman felt like it was time to go home. He had been out for a long time, and he had promised to help his mom with dinner that night, so he had to be home on time. He felt much better - even though he still felt a dull ache in his chest, but it was hardly noticeable. Mostly just annoying. 

“One more thing, by the way,” Virgil called out as Roman slipped two of the mechanic claws in his pocket. “Please lose the cape.”

Roman raised his eyebrows in a form of protest. “What? But it looks so cool!”

“Yeah, and it’s super easy to use against you,” the other countered quickly, grabbing one of the claws himself. “Others can easily grab it. You can get stuck behind it. People can step on it.  _ You  _ can step on it. It’s dangerous, Ro.”

“But-”

“Look, if you want to do something dumb like being a superhero, that’s fine. But don’t make it any dumber or more dangerous than it already is. It’s not all about the aesthetic. You need to stay safe.”

Roman pouted slightly. Even if Virgil had a point, he didn’t  _ like  _ it. He really loved it cape. It was pretty, and walking around with a cape just made everything ten time more awesome and aesthetically pleasing. It really did look amazing. “I’ll think about it,” he finally concluded, wanting to keep Virgil satisfied. He  _ did  _ have a few incidents with the cape already, so maybe Virgil was right, even if Roman didn’t want him to be. He might actually consider removing the cape, but it would be a difficult parting. 

Virgil sighed with a slight eyeroll, knowing very well that this was the best he could get out of the other teen. He was a stubborn dumbass, but maybe he would see the benefit. The only thing Virgil could do about that right now, was waiting. There was no way he’d be able to convince Roman. Not right now at least. “Whatever,” he muttered, “just... saying.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Skipping class, nightmare

For the rest of the weekend, Roman stayed at home. And when he wasn’t spending time with his family or working on his homework, the teen was studying the two claws he had brought back, trying to find out what it could be. Virgil and Patton were in possession of the remaining claws, doing the exact same thing. Trying to find anything interesting, but there wasn’t much. The objects were hollow, with a small tube on the inside of them. The tube was empty, but Roman was pretty sure it hadn’t been. Because the claw ended in a small point, almost like a needle that was likely to have been used to inject whatever substance had been in the tubes before. But that was everything he got. The tubes were pretty much completely empty, giving nothing away about its previous contents. There was nothing useful there. And from the messages he got, it would seem that his friends were not much more successful. It was painfully frustrating. 

The weekend quickly passed, and soon enough, it was time to go back to school. The spot where Macauley had hit him with the shocking device was still red, and while it had cooled down a bit, it was still warmer than the rest of his body. And with the amount of time that had passed, it didn’t seem like it would reach normal temperatures any time soon. 

Patton had been able to get his mother’s car that day, so he could pick Roman up. The teenager was already waiting outside when the blue vehicle pulled up. He quickly got in the car and fastened his seatbelt as Patton took off again. They made some small talk, but Roman found that it was difficult to concentrate, because there was a lot on his mind at the moment. First of all, he really wanted to find out if Patton had made any discoveries about the weird claws that he hadn’t shared yet. And on top of that, he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he had chemistry class this afternoon. From Logan. Hellfire. His nemesis. Someone who had murdered three people. How could he possibly sit there in peace, knowing that his teacher was a villain and murderer? Knowing that his teacher had even tried to kill  _ him _ ? Or at least, he gave off the impression that he did by doing shit like throwing him out of a fucking window. How could he follow his classes then? No, he wouldn’t be comfortable. Part of him had already decided he would skip chemistry this afternoon, yet another part of him was anxious about the idea. It was ridiculously dumb and idiotic, but at the same time, he couldn’t attend class. Not while a murderer was teaching that class. He needed to gather proof and find a way to turn him in. Find a way so the police can lock him up without him being able to use his powers to escape again. Something to contain him, something safe. Until then… Roman doubted he’d follow another chemistry class. Not unless he had a very good reason to attend. 

All during French, English and lunch, Roman considered his options. He did his best to pay attention in his classes, while also trying to figure out his best move in taking down Hellfire, and what to do about chemistry class. His friends noticed his absence, but didn’t question it. He did have a lot to process, and they understood. They didn’t want to nag. 

After lunch, Virgil already got up, waiting for Roman to follow so they could go to chemistry together, but Roman shook his head as he got up, joining his friend anyway. “I don’t think I’m gonna go,” he announced as they waved goodbye to Patton. 

“What?”

Roman shrugged. “I just… don’t want to go,” he said, “after Saturday, it’s just really weird, you know?”

Virgil sighed. “I get it,” he muttered. “But are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yep,” the hero nodded. “Sorry to leave you on your own there, but I’m just… not comfortable going to his class, knowing that… well, you know what I mean.”

Virgil nodded slowly. Yes, he did know. And he did understand where Roman was coming from. Did he like this idea? No, not at all. He hated it. But he understood. To him, it felt weird as well, knowing that his teacher was a murdering villain. He couldn’t even imagine how it must feel for Roman, who had literally fought him on multiple occasions. That didn’t mean he approved, but… “You’re not gonna change your mind, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

Despite his chuckle, Virgil was not exactly amused. He hated skipping classes, and even if it was  _ Roman  _ doing it, it still made him anxious to think about. Especially because he heard from Patton that the other guy had already skipped classes twice, and while it was ‘just PE’, it still got more dangerous and he was going to get in trouble for this sooner or later. But Roman was not going to let that stop him, because Virgil had learned that once he had his mind made up, it was terribly difficult to convince him of something else. He really was an enormous dumbass.

“Fine,” he finally sighed, nervously running a hand through his hair. “Do whatever, I guess.”

“You know me so well,” the other grinned, slightly nudging his friend’s side. “Can you send me pictures of your notes, though? I’m gonna need that.”

Virgil hummed, not meeting his friend’s eyes. “Yeah, yeah, sure,” he said with a short nod. “I eh- gotta get to- gotta get to class.”

“Yeah, of course! I’ll… I don’t know… I’ll find something to do. See you tomorrow, right?” 

“Sure thing.” 

Roman smiled as Virgil did his small salute before leaving for his classroom, leaving Roman alone in a still crowded corridor. He then pushed his way through the hordes of students trying to get to their next class, deciding to hang out in the library. He never really visited there often, but it was a nice place to stay if you had to skip an hour. It was small and quiet, but with more than enough places to sit and hide if you didn’t want to be seen by other students. Which was exactly what Roman was going for. 

He sat down at a small table in the far corner, next to a window that gave a nice view of the parking lot in front of the school. Once he settled down, Roman looked around to make sure no one was looking at him and got a notebook from his pocket. He opened it to an empty page and wrote down everything he knew about Hellfire. His powers, his suit, all the weapons he had so far. There had to be some way to defeat him. There had to be some weak spot that he could use against him. There had to be something, he  _ knew  _ it. But he couldn’t find that something, and that might be the most frustrating thing of all. With all the tech, and all the weapons Logan made, it would be difficult. It was hardly a fair fight. Now, if there was a way for them to turn off the weapons, to get rid of them, or to just block them, destroy them… then it might work. But there was no way of knowing what he had in store. There was no way of knowing what he was going to use or when. 

But maybe… maybe he could find out? Maybe there was a way of figuring out what he had made, but Roman wasn’t sure what it was. He’d have to ask his friends about it after school. Or during lunch tomorrow. Surely, they’d be able to work out something with the three of them. At least… that’s what he was hoping for. But he didn’t know. He really didn’t know. And that was terrifying, in a way. He had never had to face someone this clever and ahead of him. And while past him had wished for a challenge like this… it sucked more than he had previously thought it would. Logan was a strong opponent, and they both knew that he was better than Roman. If he wanted to defeat this guy, he had to be smart. And to outsmart Logan… he would have to be a fucking genius. So maybe that’s why it was a blessing to have his friends on his side. Three people would know more than one, right? 

The two hours turned out to pass by way slower than he had expected. They seemed to never end, really. He made a few more notes, he listened to music, watched some YouTube videos and even started on a new sketch. Then, finally, the bell rang and Roman could pack up his stuff. He sneaked out of the library and blended in with the crowds that had already gathered in the hallways. Just one class to go before he could go out again. He was thinking about going out on patrol for an hour or two. The weather was lovely, so it might be nice to wander outside for a bit. Maybe fight someone. Though he was hoping for a quiet afternoon, to be fair. The weather was too nice to be ruined by fighting. It’s not that he didn’t like being Creativity - the hero was a part of his personality at this point - but it  _ did  _ start to feel like an obligation sometimes. He couldn’t stop being Creativity, even if he tried, but he wasn’t sure it was because he didn’t  _ want  _ to, or because he felt like he  _ couldn’t _ . It might even be a mix of both. He didn’t know. 

Luckily for him, the afternoon did pass by quietly. He hopped around a bit, talked to a few people, kept an eye on a shady couple who apparently just wanted to prank their friends. Nothing big happened that day, and for once, Roman wasn’t complaining. He needed time to relax. 

It’s funny how his time as Creativity had transformed into alone-time. Time to relax, time to think. Everything was turning out so hectic and stressful, and these few hours by himself were a blessing. Funny how things change like that.

The rest of that day was just as tedious as the first half had been. Roman was restless, and he kept thinking. Kept trying to think of something to do, something to do to get rid of Hellfire. He knew who it was, but there was nothing he could do. He needed something more. A way to defeat Logan, a way to nullify his powers or his tech. Proof to get to the police, to show them who was committing all these murders. But he had nothing. None of that. It sucked. It really,  _ really  _ sucked.

Roman was fairly certain his mom could see that something was up. Hell, Sophie probably knew too. But neither of them brought it up. Maybe it was because they weren’t sure Roman would actually be willing to answer. Maybe it was because they didn’t want to push him, they didn’t want to pry. Roman wasn’t sure. But he sure was relieved that they didn’t. He didn’t want to talk. And even if he  _ would  _ want to talk, he didn’t know how to explain his situation. He couldn’t exactly tell his mother that he was a superhero and that his chemistry teacher was his nemesis and a murderer. Not out of the blue, at least. If he wanted to tell her eventually, he’d have to take baby steps. Maybe he would have to think about coming out to her at some point. 

_ It was dark. Kind of chilly, too. Roman wasn’t sure where he was, but somehow, it felt strangely familiar. Like he had been here before. Yet he still couldn’t name the location.  _

_ He looked around, trying to find something he recognized, or maybe a hint about where to go. In the distance, he saw a small, wooden bench. The ones you’d see in a park or a square. But something was off about this particular bench. It seemed to be… burnt. Blackened and charred. Not exactly a pretty sight. The longer he stared at it, the more its state worsened.  _

_ The teenager edged forwards, eyeing the bench closely. Whatever burned it like this had to be something big. Like… a person, perhaps.  _

_ Roman turned around, just in time to see a shadow-like figure looming before him. Except it wasn’t a shadow. It was a man in a black suit, nearly blending in with his surroundings. And the teen immediately knew who it was. Hellfire.  _

_ Their surroundings seemed to clear up, and he was on the square in the centre of town. Logan raised his hand, and blue fire sparked from his fingers in a threatening manner.  _

_ Roman jumped aside just as a wave of blue fire hit his previous position. He even felt the warmth of the flames on his skin. It was way too close for comfort. He had to do something about it.  _

_ A brief struggle followed between the hero and the villain, and while Roman managed to deflect pretty much every attack, he never could get in a successful attack himself. Every attempt was refuted and parried. No matter how hard he tried, every try was futile. _

_ At some point, Roman found himself backed up against the very same bench from before. He didn’t even know how it happened; everything had been a blur until this very moment.  _

_ Somehow, his powers didn’t seem to work. He tried to summon a shield, a sword, anything that would help him in his fight. But nothing worked. Nothing came. No matter what he tried. And in the meantime, he noticed a blue flame in the corner of his eye. Then, a bright flash of light, and then- _

When Roman opened his eyes, his heart was still racing, and it took him a second or two to realise that he was safely at home, with nothing there to threaten him. Nothing that he was aware of at least. There could be someone hiding in the shadows in his room, just waiting to-

No- he needed to shut up about that. Thinking like that wasn’t going to help him. He needed to calm down, but…  _ fuck _ , that dream. 

The teenager quickly reached for his phone. It was a little bit past four am, he noticed as he opened YouTube. Great, so he’d have about three more hours before he needed to wake up for school. Hopefully, he’d be able to fall asleep before that time, because he would not survive an entire school day on like- three hours of sleep.

He watched a few videos of his favourite YouTubers before he finally felt his eyelids growing heavier again. But even when he put his phone away and closed his eyes, it took quite a while for Roman to fall asleep again. It must have been five am when he finally managed to sleep. But hey- it’s better to get two more hours of sleep than none, right? 

A few hours later, when Roman managed to wake up - with a lot of effort, let me be clear on that, he dragged himself downstairs to the breakfast table, but every movement cost effort. He would give anything to be able to stay in bed for a little bit longer, but he knew that was impossible. Stupid school. Stupid responsibilities. 

“Morning,” Megan smiled, though it slightly faltered as she noticed her son’s state. “Rough night?”

“Yeah,” he said, stifling a yawn. “Didn’t sleep too well.”

“Any idea why?” 

Roman shook his head, getting himself a cup of tea. “Not really,” he responded. “I woke up around four and couldn’t really get to sleep until like five.” 

Hey, it wasn’t a complete lie. He just didn’t want to tell his mother about his nightmare. Not because he didn’t trust her, but because he had no idea how he could cover it up. It was just a little white lie, surely there was no harm in that?

“You wanna borrow one of my stuffed animals?” Sophie asked, looking up at her older brother with concerned blue eyes. “They help me sleep, so…”

Roman chuckled as he turned to his sibling. “But what about you, then?”

“I’ve got enough! You can get one if you really want to.”

“That’s really sweet, pipsqueak,” he answered as he got himself some cereal. “But I wouldn’t want to take any of them away from you.”

“Oh, that’s okay, they don’t mind,” Sophie reassured him, “and I don’t, either! I wanna help you!”

With one look at her face, Roman knew he couldn’t say no to her. There was such a pure and genuine concern in her eyes. She really wanted to help, which was… too cute for words. “Alright, alright,” he conceded, “we can always try it, right?”

Sophie grinned and nodded, returning to her breakfast with a bit more of small talk. She went upstairs before Roman did, and when he stepped into his room again, he could see a small stuffed lion on his bed. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: skipping class, slight arguing, mentions of... stealing I guess?

On Monday, Roman pretty much went through his day as usual. He took the bus with Patton, talked, went to his classes, had lunch with his friend, and skipped chemistry. However, when he was heading to creative writing, his last class of the day, the teen felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He took it out and read a text from Virgil:

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ hey so macauley said he wanted you to come to his office after class?  _

Roman frowned at his screen. Well that sounded ominous. It was probably just about him skipping classes, which was to be expected, but Roman still didn’t like the idea of being in the same room as fucking Hellfire. He knew that Logan wouldn’t do anything, and that he just wanted to talk and all of that, but it was the idea that he disliked. The idea of being in the same room as his enemy. A murderer. Someone who had thrown him out of a window for fuck’s sake. And he was expected to act respectful because ‘he is your teacher, he needs respect, blah blah blah’? That really wasn’t something that Roman wanted to do. But he couldn’t exactly avoid it either. Even if he had been avoiding Logan all week.

The hero grimaced and typed out a response to his friend. 

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Oh god _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ This is it _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Hes gonna kill me _

**_[Virgil]: _**_oof_ _rip_

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Thx for the support dude _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ of course _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ good luck tho _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Thanks, I think im gonna neef it  _

After his last class of the day, Roman found himself reluctantly walking towards Macauley’s office. Despite not wanting to, he knew he had to confront his teacher sooner or later. He was still skipping classes, hero or not. He realised that that wasn’t something he could do without consequences. So, he knocked on the door and waited until a voice told him to come in.

The teen opened the door and forced a small smile as he looked at his teacher, closing the door behind him.

“Ah, Roman. I’m glad you decided to turn up. Please have a seat.” Roman gritted his teeth as he did what he was asked. He hated how calm Logan was. How natural his tone was. It was as if he was trying to pretend that the entire Hellfire-Creativity affair wasn’t happening. As if he was trying to pretend that he didn’t know that in some secret life, they were enemies. Roman absolutely hated it.

But, he still sat down on the one chair in front of the desk with his arms crossed, dropping his bag next to him. He really didn’t want to be here, but he knew that he had very little choice. Maybe he was lucky and he could get out in a few minutes again.

“I have noticed your absence in my classes the past week.” Roman nodded as he leaned back in his seat, but he didn’t answer. Why would he? “I would like to know why. Did anything happen to make you make this decision? Did my behaviour or anyone else’s make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe in the environment of my class? Or is it an issue with the curriculum, perhaps?”

The teenager just managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he looked at his teacher, sitting up a bit straighter. “Why, yes, your behaviour  _ did  _ make me uncomfortable,” he snapped harshly. “I don’t know why, but I just don’t like the idea of being in a class taught by a murderer who tried to kill me on multiple occasions. But that’s just me, right? It’s just me being a dumbass.”

Logan shook his head. “Roman, I don’t know what you-”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” the student continued. “I know who you are, you know who I am. Do you really need to ask why I’ve been skipping your classes? Cause I’m sure you are fully aware of the reason. So let’s stop ignoring the fucking elephant, okay?”

Despite his obvious annoyance, Logan sighed, keeping his composure otherwise. “I suggest we keep out other…  _ occupations _ out of this,” he responded calmly. Before Roman could even roll his eyes and comment on how fucking pretentious that was, his teacher continued. “I could transfer you to the other class, but I do not believe you would do as well there.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. Was there even any difference between the classes? Any difference significant enough to influence his performance, at least? It sounded strange to him. Not that it mattered, though. He wouldn’t want to be transferred anyways. It meant that the last one and a half year of high school, he would have to take that class with people he barely knew. And there was no Virgil in that class. Not to mention that there was a fairly good chance that it would clash with some of his other subjects, and that would cause a whole lot more chaos and distress. No, he’d prefer to get the notes from Virgil and work on his homework in his own time at home. He could show up for any test they’d have to make, and then disappear again. There was no way he would be near this man any longer than he had to. 

“No thanks, I’m good,” he decided with a fake smile. “Was that all? Can I leave?”

Logan gave him a stern look. “You know you cannot keep skipping class, Roman,” he told the student in front of him. 

Roman leaned on the desk a bit, mimicking his teacher. “Watch me.”

“It won’t do your record any good,” the man continued, unfaltered by the teen’s behaviour. 

“Yeah, well, at least I’m not going around killing people, right? That would look  _ way  _ worse on my record.” 

It was quite clear that Logan’s patience was starting to wear thin. Understandably so, as Roman wasn’t exactly acting reasonably here. But he had to keep calm, because otherwise there would be a whole lot of other stuff to worry about, job-wise. And he had to worry about enough as it was right now. 

So, he just sighed again and nodded. “I’m going to have to write you up,” he stated, folding his hands in front of him. “And I will have to send you to the counselor’s office, too, on which you will receive more information later.”

“Great, is that all?” Roman was getting impatient to leave at this point, and it was becoming quite frustrating. Maybe that was exactly what he was going for. To annoy his teacher, because that was the only thing he could do. He couldn’t exactly attack him out of nowhere. This was his sort of protest. Logan would get it. He hoped. 

“It is,” the teacher confirmed with a single nod. “You may leave now. Have a nice day, Roman.”

Roman hummed softly as he got up, grabbing his bag again. “Yeah. Thanks,” he said quickly as he walked towards the door. “You… too… I guess. Don’t murder anyone. I’ll know if you do.”

He quickly walked out of the office, not wanting to stay there for a second longer. 

It was strange how quiet the corridors were. Most students had already gone home as soon as class ended, of course. So now, the hallways were just abandoned and eerily quiet. The sound of Roman’s locker opening echoed through the quiet hall, seeming so much louder than it normally did. It was unsettling and Roman just wanted to get out of that as quickly as he possibly could, so he swiftly put away the books he wouldn’t be needing at home, grabbed his red jacket, and walked towards the exit. 

He’d just hop around the city a bit, make sure no one was doing any illegal stuff they shouldn’t be doing, and then go home to read over some chemistry notes and eat before hitting the gym (and maybe doing just a little more patrolling after that, but that depended entirely on how much training would kill him).

When he came back home after a fairly uneventful patrol the author didn’t feel like writing, Roman dropped his bag underneath the coat rack and kicked off his shoes. When he walked towards the living room, he heard voices coming from upstairs. He didn’t have to wait for very long to know who these had to belong to. He was fairly certain that they were his little sister’s and her best friend in the whole wide world, Alex. He smiled slightly and entered the living room, where his mom was reading a magazine with a cup of tea on the table next to her. 

“Hey mom,” he greeted as he sat down on the couch. “Alex is over?”

Megan hummed, putting the magazine down on her legs for a moment. “Yep. Been long enough since the last time.”

“What, since last week?” Roman commented with a raised eyebrow. That might have been a slight exaggeration on his part, but it got the point across. Sophie and Alex did spend a lot of time together. It was adorable. If he was one of  _ those people _ who forced sexuality onto little kids, he would be shipping them right now. Because kids can’t just be friends. There always needs to be some sort of romantic motive hidden underneath. No, he wasn’t salty about people like that. 

Well… maybe just a little bit. Or a whole lot. 

Megan chuckled and nodded as she reached for her tea. “Yeah, it’s been a whole week,” she agreed, carefully taking a sip of her drink, before deeming it too hot to drink still. 

“A week is a very long time,” the teen agreed. “Don’t know if I could last that long.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wow, rude,” he scoffed with a grin that was quickly returned by his mother. 

“Oh, there’s more tea if you want some, by the way,” she quickly realised making a small gesture towards the kitchen. “And it’s also there if you don’t want any. There’s tea.”

Roman laughed softly. “Good to know, mom, thanks,” he muttered, absentmindely tracing the outlines of the mark on his chest. Even though most of the pain had subsided, it was still a bit sensitive. More sensitive than the rest of his skin anyways. And it was still warm, too. Not as burning hot as it was right after the initial attack, but still warmer than the rest of his body. The redness hadn’t gone away at all. It might turn out to be quite a problem during PE, he realised. He would have to make sure that no one could see the mark as he was changing clothes, and he would be fine. Hopefully. If he didn’t act too suspiciously about it. He just wondered how long it would stay like this. If it would ever change in the first place. Would it remain this red and warm for ever? When he died, would his entire body turn cold and pale, except for that one warm, red spot on the middle of his chest? Would he keep this forever, or would the heat at some point slowly fade away? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t know anything at this point. He didn’t even know if the heat was a good thing or not. It might just be a poison, waiting to kill him at the right moment, giving Logan a good alibi. Though if that was the case… it would have been better to use a slightly quicker poison. Something to kill him a day later. Not more than  _ nine days _ . 

Not that it mattered anyway. He didn’t know what it was, he didn’t know what to do about it. So it didn’t really matter. Whatever it was going to do, would happen. If it was even going to do anything. 

“Ro, are you okay?” Megan asked carefully, eyeing her son carefully. She had seen his thoughts start to wander off, and while this was not a rare occasion for Roman, she couldn’t help but feel like something was going on. Call it a motherly instinct, if you will. Of course, you could never be one hundred percent sure with Roman, because it might just be him working out one of the plot holes in one of his many stories that troubled him every waking moment. 

But the way that he flinched slightly, and then tried to hide this sudden movent from his mom proved that there was something bothering him. She could see it in his eyes. But despite that, Roman shook his head and told her that there was nothing wrong. That he was just thinking about school. Homework, that kind of stuff. And while Megan wanted to believe him - and she nearly did - there was just some small waver in his voice that betrayed his lie. 

“Roman… You know that you can always talk to me, right?” she asked him softly, looking at him. 

Her son nodded, returning the look with a careful smile. “I know, mom,” he responded gratefully. “Thanks. But really… It’s nothing big. Just some… chemistry homework I’m stuck on, but I’ll figure it out. Just gotta take a good look at it later.”

Megan hesitated. She knew her son wasn’t telling the truth - not the complete truth, at least - but she didn’t want to push either. She wanted Roman to trust her, and to come to her with any problems he might have. If she was going to force him to talk about it now, even if he might not be ready to talk about it, he would probably never come to her with anything ever again. And she didn’t want that to happen either. If he thought this was important enough for he to know, Roman would open up about it in his own time. Whenever he felt like was ready for it. And she would just have to accept that. 

After a few more talks and a cup of tea for the both of them, Roman announced that he would go upstairs to work on some homework. Megan just smiled and wished him luck, returning her attention to the magazine she still kept in her lap. 

Roman walked into the small hallway, grabbed his backpack from the floor and carried it upstairs. He heard the voices of Alex and Sophie, playing some game in her room, and smiled. He resisted the urge to go inside and greet his sister and her best friend, instead deciding to do the responsible thing and work on his homework. Now that he wasn’t following the chemistry lessons, he would need to do some extra work to keep up. He didn’t want to fail, because if Creativity was the reason for him to fail a class… that would suck. Because that mean that he wouldn’t be able to maintain an even balance between the two parts of his life, and that he might have to give up on one of them. And that was never going to happen. He was not going to choose between school and Creativity because of one stupid teacher who happened to be a murderer. Partially, because he knew that he would choose Creativity over anything, and his mom would not approve of that. Virgil and Patton wouldn’t either. So… he needed to pass this class. And that meant… a lot of work.  _ A lot _ . 

First, he read through the notes Virgil had sent him and copied them in his own notebook - a process that took more than enough time by itself. Then, he tried to make the homework questions that belonged to the topics discussed. He even used the book for some things he didn’t know. And that was a big deal, because he rarely used the book for purposes other than studying for tests. And finally, he checked his answers using the answer sheets Virgil had sent him as well. It was a lot of work. And a lot of boring work, too. But it was something that had to be done, even if he would rather be doing anything else. At least he would be able to do actual fun stuff when he finished it. Without feeling bad about procrastinating, that is. 

After a while, the doorbell rang downstairs, followed not long after by the front door opening and two female voices. Roman could practically hear Sophie and Alex whining as Megan announced the arrival of Alex’ mom. Nevertheless, the door opened quickly after, and the two kids ran downstairs, still talking and laughing about whatever it was they had been doing before that. 

The teen shook his head fondly at the kids’ enthusiasm. They were so sweet together and Roman loved seeing his sister as excited and happy as she was around him. She deserved someone like that. Everyone did, obviously, but… Roman just wanted his sister to be happy, so to see someone she could just hang out with and be herself with, was all he could ask for. 

The next day, chemistry would have been Roman’s first class. If he was going of course. To avoid suspicion from his mom, he did head out at the same time as he normally would, but he didn’t go to school immediately. After all, there was no point in going to school if he wasn’t going to class anyway. So he hopped around on the higher rooftops a bit, walked through the city, and finally made his way to school after two brief hours. 

On his way to school, however, he go a few texts. 

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ okay i might hav a lead _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ i saw macauley w/ a notebook. hardcover i think _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ he was sketching some shit in it when we worked on hw _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ thought it might be susp? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Hmm yeah _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I think I knoe which one you mean _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Did ya see anytging tho? _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ not much, didnt wanna seem too curious _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Valid _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ We shoukd investigate _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Lunch maybe? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Table near the football field again? _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ sure thing, see u then :) _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ youll see pat right? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yup, Ill let him know _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ awesome _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ see you later _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ See you! <3 _

Roman slipped his phone back into the pocket of his coat and continued his way to school. So… Logan had a notebook. It was awfully little, and it could just as well be nothing. It could just be a random notebook with actual notes. School stuff, perhaps. But there was a fairly big chance that it contained actual sketches for Hellfire’s tech. And if it did… then they needed those sketches. It was worth a try. 

The teen entered the building of his school just a little before class ended, so he had the time to get to his locker before he had to go to philosophy, giving him just a bit of time to get his stuff and put his jacket away. The bell rang just as he had grabbed his philosophy books, so he could immediately head to his first class of the day, blending in with the crowds of students in the corridors. 

As he approached his philosophy classroom, Roman saw that the door was already open, and he quickly slipped inside. Patton was already present, so the teen quickly walked up to his friend and sat down in the seat next to him. 

“We’re meeting V for lunch,” he said quickly as he got out his stuff. “We’ve got some things to discuss concerning -” He looked around to make sure no one was listening in. Surely enough, people were still talking to each other. Which didn’t make it any less risky. “ _ You-know-who _ .”

Patton looked up at his friend, nodding. “There’s new plans?”

“Potentially,” he responded casually. He wasn’t trying to draw too much attention by being so secretive about it. “That’s what we need to discuss.”

“Gotcha.” Patton nodded once more, not offering much more input. He knew who ‘you-know-who’ was, and he knew that this was a topic they couldn’t discuss out in the open. He would find out what this news was during lunch. He could live with that. 

After class, Roman and Patton walked outside, heading to the arranged spot outside. Virgil had already made it there and was reading something on his phone as he waited for his two friends. 

“Hey there,” Roman grinned as he sat down opposite the older teen. Virgil flinched slightly at the sudden sound, but smiled as soon as his eyes locked with Roman. And dear God, Roman could have sworn his heart stopped in that brief moment. That laugh could melt even the devil’s heart, he was sure. Someone so gorgeous could not even exist. It seemed too good to be true. 

“Hey,” he responded with a careful smile as Patton took the seat next to Roman. 

“So,” the hero continued, not wanting to waste a single minute. “The notebook?”

Virgil raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile. “Cutting to the chase, huh?” 

“What notebook?” Patton asked, glancing between his two friends in confusion. 

“Oh, right,” Roman nodded, suddenly realising that he hadn’t told Patton about their situation. “Virgil saw Macauley with a notebook. Said it looked sketchy, so it might be worth checking out. Maybe it can tell us more about Hellfire. His tech, his… suit, weapons, all that kind of crap, you know? Stuff we need to defeat him.”

Patton slowly nodded, taking in all the information. “How are we going to get it, though?”

“That’s what we need to discuss,” he answered. “Among others. I can go through his office during class. See if I can find it there.”

Virgil’s eyes widened slightly, before he returned back to normal and cleared his throat. “Yeah, great idea, love it, except… I’ve got a few issues with that,” he started, setting down the bottle in his hand. “First of all: it might not be there. He had it on him today, he might have it on him at all times. Second of all: are you  _ seriously  _ suggesting to break into his office? Are you absolutely  _ insane _ ?”

“Not at all,” Roman replied with a scoff that was meant to make the others believe that he knew what he was doing - even if he didn’t know this at all. “I’m technically not breaking in because I’m already in the school. It’s not like his office is fully off bounds, it’s just another room in the school.”

“Yeah, but if it’s locked, you’re gonna have to find another way to get in, and that’s gonna get you into trouble if you’re found out.”

“Which is why I shouldn’t be found out,” the other shrugged. “I just sneak in, look through his stuff and leave before anyone even knows something is up.”

Virgil looked at his friend, clearly skeptical about this whole idea - probably for the best, Roman would have guessed. “Okay, but what if it’s not there?”

“If it’s not there…” Roman paused for a second to think. “If it’s not there, you can grab it.”

“I’m sorry,  _ what _ ?”

“Yeah, it’s simple! We gotta make sure he leaves the room and you can get the notebook while he’s gone.”

Roman was very well aware that things were not as easy as he made it out to be. But this was their only lead, and a big chance to defeat Macauley. This could even be used as evidence to prove to the police that their teacher was the infamous villain Hellfire. A lot was resting on this notebook, so he had to be sure that they would be able to get this. If they failed, there probably wouldn’t be another chance for them to get it. He hoped that, by acting confident, he would get Virgil on board with this ridiculous idea. Wishful thinking, and he was aware of this. But it was the only chance he had. 

“Are you kidding me,” Virgil mumbled under his breath with a slight shake of his head, “are you- how? How am I supposed to do that? How am I supposed to search his notebook and grab it in a classroom full of people?”

“Well, simple,” Roman said with a confident shrug. “You said he had it on his desk, right? He was sketching? Well, maybe, if it’s not in his office, he might have it on his desk again. Maybe he is worked on some sort of new… weapon? It’s out best shot, Virgil.” 

“That’s… not even an answer,” Virgil muttered to himself.“And it’s a great idea, don’t get me wrong, except… it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Nothing is ridiculous after a year of being a superhero. We need this notebook.”

“I…” Patton hesitated slightly as he turned to his best friend. “I think… Virgil has a point, Ro. It’s risky.”

“You know what else is risky? Letting Macauley do whatever he wants without interfering. If this notebook has his designs, then we need it. I don’t think I can beat him without it. I need to know what to expect if I want to defeat this guy.” Roman looked at his friends, almost pleadingly. He needed them to understand how absolutely  _ crucial _ this notebook could be for them. He hated having to do this, but there was no other choice. They needed this. And no matter what, they just  _ had _ to understand that. 

Sure, he might be able to do this himself.  _ Theoretically _ . But it would be so much easier if he had his friends on his side. It would be tricky to get his friends involved, but with more people, they had more chance of finding the notebook. If he did this on his own, and the notebook wasn’t in the office, then he’d have to find a way to get it from Macauley by himself, and that would be a lot more difficult. He knew where Logan lived - Emile, his son was a classmate of Roman’s and he’d been to his place a few times. Working on a project last year, and the occasional party. So technically, he could try to find a way to sneak inside and steal the notebook. But it was risky, easy to get caught, and he still wouldn’t know how to get in or where to find the booklet. He could try it, but it was dangerous and bordering on stupidity. But maybe… as a last resort. But he would really appreciate the help of his friends instead. 

“Roman, I know this is important to you,” Patton started hesitantly. He spoke slowly, picking his words carefully, making sure not to say the wrong thing. “But… are you sure this will work? It’s quite tricky, and if it doesn’t work…”

“It has to work,” he responded stubbornly, as if the mere action of him saying this would make it come true. “It  _ has  _ to, because we need this. I’m willing to take all the blame for it. I’ll face any consequences if this fails. It’s my fault, I pulled you into this, I’ll take the blame… just…  _ please _ . I need to see what is in that notebook.”

“I…” Virgil ran his hands through his hair, overthinking this whole ordeal. “If you can work out a plan, I… I’ll think this through, okay? Give me a bit, I… I don’t know.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Roman nodded patiently. “Take your time. Except… not too long, because I need to know if I got you on board. And don’t feel bad if you don’t want to. I’ll… figure something out myself in that case.” He gave his friend a small smile, hoping that he wouldn’t feel pressured to help out. Because while Roman would prefer the help of his friends, their mental wellbeing mattered more to him. If Virgil didn’t feel like he could do it, then that would be okay.

“Sure thing,” the other promised. Roman noticed how his friend did not meet his eyes as he did so. “I’ll eh- I’ll let you know.”


	21. Chapter 21

Two days had passed and fairly little happened. Virgil didn’t respond yet, they didn’t have a big breakthrough yet, and Hellfire stayed hidden. Nothing notable happened, until Roman came home after a brief patrol on Thursday. 

When he came home, he immediately heard his mother calling out to him, asking him to come to the living room. There was a strange sense of urgency to her voice that made Roman frown. Megan was fairly upbeat and cheerful most of the time. She was a pretty cool mom when it came to that. More easy-going than some of his classmates’, at least. One of the advantages of having a young mom? 

But this time was an exception. Megan sounded way more stern and serious than she usually did. Which meant that the thing she wanted to talk about was serious. And not just normal serious, but  _ super  _ serious. 

For a few moments, the teenager forgot about the feud going on between him and Macauley, about him skipping literally every chemistry class for the past two weeks. It was as if it had become a routine by now. So normal that he didn’t even worry about the consequences or about his mother finding out. 

“Hey mom,” he called when he entered the living room. “What’s up?”

“I got a call from school this afternoon,” Megan responded coolly. And that was the moment that Roman remembered that he had skipped chemistry for two weeks and that he would probably have to face the consequences at some point. “They said you haven’t shown up to chemistry class for the past two weeks. Care to explain that?”

“Right,” Roman nodded slowly as he sat down in an armchair. “I can explain that.”

“I’m listening.”

Clearly, Roman could  _ not  _ explain that. In his idiocy, he had only focussed on defeating Hellfire, and he had totally forgotten about the fact that he had a life outside of Creativity as well. He hadn’t bothered to think of an excuse. “I didn’t go because… I… didn’t… want to.” Nailed it.

“Why not?”

“I can’t tell you,” the teen dismissed with a shake of his head. “It- it… it’s complicated.” He risked a quick glance at his mother, and noticed her hard stare softening for a second as she thought about his words. 

“Roman,” she spoke, the sudden softness in her voice catching Roman off guard. “You know you can talk to me, right? And if anyone is… bothering you, or-”

“No, that’s not it mum, really,” he interrupted her hurriedly. “No, I’m fine. I know! It’s something else, but… I don’t know, it’s a long story, and it’s hard to explain and-”

“I’m patient, Ro.”

“I know. But it’s just… I… I can’t tell you. Not now.” 

By now, Roman decided that he would have to tell her at some point. He couldn’t forever get away with hiding this identity. But he didn’t want to tell her  _ now _ . The moment had to feel right for him, and this felt wrong in so many ways. It had to be spontaneous. Not… not  _ this _ . 

Megan sighed as she sat up, giving her son a stern look. “Alright, well… we’re meeting with your counselor tomorrow evening to discuss this.”

“Wha- but I’ve got kickboxing tomorrow,” he protested.

“You’ll have to cancel,” she simply answered him. “I’m sorry, but you can’t get out of this one.”

Roman sighed, already reaching for his phone. “Fine, I’ll let Aron know then, I guess.”

Friday evening. Roman drove to school with his mother. He really was not looking forward to this meeting. Of course, it was ridiculous to hope that he could keep this up until the end of the year without any real consequences, but it still sucked. The fact that he was Creativity really sucked. Because it meant that he had a reason to miss class. A reason that he thought was perfectly reasonable. Yet because of this  _ secret _ , he couldn’t tell anybody that reason. And so he was forced to face detention, suspension, or whatever consequence they’d choose.

The ride was silent, and even though Roman wanted so desperately to break that awkward silence, he decided not to. He didn’t want to say anything dumb. And knowing him, he’d try too much to break the silence and say something that wasn’t just dumb, but  _ incredibly  _ dumb. And he didn’t want that.

Roman guided his mother to the school counselor’s office and open the door. Macauley was there too. Great. 

“Ah, there you are,” the counselor, miss Cherry spoke. “Have a seat.”

She gestured towards two empty chair opposite her desk. Roman chose the one furthest from Macauley, not sparing a single glance at his teacher. He hated that Macauley had to be there. It made sense, seeing as it concerned him as well, but Roman still wished that he wouldn’t be here. He had enough to deal with already. 

“I’m glad you could make it,” miss Cherry said, leaning forwards on her desk a bit. She smiled the same smile she always did, and just like always, Roman didn’t believe that it was genuine. It was too nice to be genuine. And the smile rarely made it farther than just the lips. Never to the eyes. It looked fake. “So, as I’m sure you are aware, we need to discuss Roman’s recent… behaviour. I’ve been told he’s been skipping his chemistry class for the past…” She stopped in the middle of her sentence and turned to Logan for help.

“Two weeks,” he finished for her, with a slight nod of his head. 

“Two weeks,” Cherry confirmed. “Roman, do you have anything to say about that?”

Roman shook his head. “Not really,” he responded. He had figured that it was useless to even try to justify himself, so why even bother? He wouldn’t be able to defend his actions anyway. “I just… I don’t want to… be in his class.”

“Can you explain why?”

“I’d rather not. It’s pretty personal.”

Miss Cherry nodded, and Roman could have sworn he saw a flash of annoyance in her eyes, before that fake smile returned. “Well, can any arrangements be made to overcome this? Would it help if Roman would be transferred to another class?”

“Not really,” the teen responded, “the other class has chemistry when I have creative writing, which can’t be moved because there’s only one class. So, no, it wouldn’t help.”

“And have you tried finding a way to resolve your issue?”

“Yeah, no. I don’t think that will work. The damage has already been done, and I don’t see it being fixed any time soon.”

Cherry nodded, and it was fairly evident that she was not happy with the course of events and Roman’s stubbornness. Not an uncommon response. If Roman had made up his mind, if he had taken a stance in a discussion, it would be difficult to get him to change his opinions. Which led to a lot of frustration from others.

There were a few more questions. Directed at him, directed at his mom, directed at Logan. Some discussion, and finally Cherry decided that she had had enough. Roman would get detention for a week, starting after the weekend. And if he kept skipping classes, even after that, he might end up in ISS after this.

Just… awesome. 

The ride home was silent and awkward. Even more so than the ride to school had been, if that was even possible. 

They came home to a quiet house. Megan had asked the neighbour to watch Sophie and put her to bed. They wouldn’t be gone for long, so she had told them that they could leave right after. It’s almost as if this was some kind of plot device to create a convenient atmosphere. 

“Roman,” Megan said. The first words she had spoken since they left school. “You know that you can talk to me, right?”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded as he sat down on one of their armchairs. He didn’t look at his mother at all. Too afraid to do so. “Yeah, of course.”

“Then why don’t you ever  _ do  _ it?” she asked exasperatedly. “I know you’re hiding something, Roman. And if it interferes with your school then…”

“It’s nothing, mom,” the teen interrupted with a weak shake of his head. “It’s- it’s fine.”

“Well, if it’s bad enough to skip school, then I don’t think it’s ‘nothing’. I just want to know why you’re skipping school, Roman. You know you can trust me.”

Roman closed his eyes and took a breath. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to answer. Not truthfully, at least. Not now. He wanted things to be right when he told her. After all, he couldn’t imagine that  _ any  _ mother would be excited to hear that her teenage son was secretly a superhero fighting a dangerous supervillain. He didn’t want to tell her  _ now _ . 

“It’s… complicated,” he tried. 

“I’ve got all night,” Megan shrugged as she sat down opposite her son. There was more of an edge to her voice by now, and Roman knew that she was impatient. But somehow… he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. 

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Roman. I want answers. What’s going on with you lately? You’ve been nothing but secretive lately, and now you’re skipping school, too? Why are you doing this?”

“Okay, fine.” The words were out of his mouth before he realised it. A little bit harsher than he intended, too. But he kept going. “Do you  _ want  _ to know why I’ve been skipping class? Well, it’s because my teacher, Mcauley? He’s Hellfire. You know? That crazy murderer going around.”

“What?”

“Yeah. And if you want to know how I know, I’m Creativity. That’s how I know. I fought him, and I heard his voice when his alterator broke. That’s how I know.”

What anger and irritation Megan showed before, was now completely replaced by shock and confusion. The room fell silent for a second, but that second seemed to last an eternity. And Roman was waiting for her to respond. Praying for that moment to come, because it had lasted way too long already. It only lasted a second or two, but it was way too long. Roman had already braced himself, expecting his mother to dismiss him, to tell him that it was too dangerous, or any comments of that nature. 

“You’re what?” Megan’s voice was surprisingly soft, confusion clearly shining through. Her body posture relaxed slightly, and her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to see something in her son’s body language that should show that he was lying, or joking.

“Yeah,” he just nodded. “If you want proof…” He snapped his fingers, changing from his normal clothes into his Creativity-suit. “Here you go.”

Again, it was silent. And it felt like a fucking eternity. He didn’t like the silence. He didn’t like having to wait, because he was so  _ scared  _ of his mother getting angry, forbidding him from doing the thing he loved most. If she was going to do this, he would prefer if she did it immediately, because he felt like he would pass out if he had to wait any longer. 

“How long?”

“Eh- I’ve been doing this for… about a year, I think.” Roman didn’t look as he answered his mother’s question. He was too afraid of what he would see if he looked at her. He didn’t want to stop doing this. He didn’t want to let the city down like that. He  _ couldn’t _ . “And before you say anything… I can’t stop doing this. I can’t. The city needs someone. And I need to take out Hellfire before he kills any more people.”

“Roman, you’re my son,” Megan replied with a gentle shake of her head. “I know that nothing I can say will stop you. Just… if you’re going to do this, at least be careful, yeah?”

“I’m doing my best, mum,” Roman promised with a careful smile. But I can’t make any promises. It kind of depends on the other guy, too.”

This was a nice surprise. It seemed as if she wouldn’t try to stop him. And while she was clearly worried, she seemed to accept her son’s identity. She asked dozens of questions, about who knew, how he got his powers, what he had been doing all along, trying to make sure that her son would act wisely, and not get himself into unnecessary danger. It was kind of hard to answer this wave of questions, but Roman was just glad that Megan didn’t give him a lecture about how stupid and irresponsible this was, as that was what he feared the most. 

She did stress a few times that she did not want Roman’s school results to suffer under the whole superhero gig. And while Roman did respond that he couldn’t promise that - especially since he was still adamant about not going to chemistry until he could prove Macauley was a murderous villain - he told her that he would try his best. And that seemed to be enough for her. It wasn’t as if she could check on Roman to make sure he would go back to his classes. She didn’t have the time for something like that, so all she could do was… hope that her son would know what was best for him.

  
  



	22. Chapter 22

** _Creativest Pals uwu_ **

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Okay so my mum knows _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ huh? _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ wdym? _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Abt Creativity _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ oh yikes _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ How? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Told her _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ We haf to have this talk with Cherry and Macaulet abt me skipping class _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ And she asked and I didnt rlly have an excuse and she kept asking so _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I said it before I even realised lol _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ How did she respons? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Could be worse I guesd _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I dont think shes gonna stop me at lest _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Said she knew Id do it anyways _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ well at leasr shes right about that huh _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ True :p _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Wow okay _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Youre rifht but still _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Thought youd have my back _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ nope sorry bud _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ :( _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I need better friends _


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: sort of trespassing?, stealing but only temporary, Roman is a giant dumbass

Pride month started that Saturday. Roman’s favourite month, for multiple reasons. Not only was it the gayest month of the year, he also had his birthday in June. So that was a double gay. 

The teen tweeted out a quick message on Creativity’s account to acknowledge the gayest month of all - he was pretty sure he was legally obliged to do so - and made sure to message all his friends about it as well. Now, I know I said ‘all’, like he had a lot of friends, but honestly, he just had two. 

On Sunday, Roman received a confirmation from Virgil, saying that he would agree to Roman’s idiotic plan to steal Logan’s notebook. On Monday, they had the plan all worked out. They would execute it on Tuesday. Which also happened to be Roman’s birthday. The perfect day to commit crimes, right? Be gay, do crimes. Pride month and Roman’s birthday on top of that were just nice extras. 

Chemistry was their first class of the day. That’s why Roman took the bus to school as any other day. Except instead of going to his classroom, he lingered in the toilets for a while, making sure that everyone would be in their classrooms by the time he got out. He had to be very careful here, and make sure no one saw him. Getting in was the trickiest part. He had a plan, sure. But it wasn’t guaranteed to work, so he would just have to wait and hope for the best.

When the teen reckoned it would be safe to get out, he sneakily left the toilets, heading for Macauley’s office. He just hoped that the notebook would be there, even though a small part of him doubted that. Otherwise… he hoped Virgil would be able to find it. They needed the notebook. It would give them a bit of insight, a bit of knowledge about his tech and maybe even his suit.

He walked up to the door and tried to open it, just to be sure. He doubted that it would open, but he had to try, right?

As expected, the door was locked. Surprise. So, the teen looked around to make sure he was alone in the hallway, and conjured up some supplies he’d need to pick the lock. He had tried to pick his own lock a few times as he was working out the plan, and while it didn’t always go perfectly, he was confident that he could manage. He did have a few backup plans if this didn’t work, but this one was the easiest. The least risky, at the very least. Easy was… not the perfect word here. None of the options were really  _ easy _ . 

The teen crouched down and repeated the steps in his head over and over, like a sort of mantra. After a few tries, he finally managed to successfully unlock the door. “Hell yeah,” he grinned as he slipped inside, softly closing the door behind him. “Now… if I was an evil supervillain, where would I hide my notes?”

He hummed to himself as he looked around the office. There was a locked cupboard, a desk and a few small shelves. All of them could be the perfect hiding place for a notebook containing secret notes used for secret supervillain stuff. So now, he would just have to find the right one.

Roman decided to go for the shelves first, because they were the easiest. No locks and few doors, so easy to search. Also the least likely hiding spot, so it would be best to rule it out quickly.

He looked everywhere he could think of, tested the books for secret compartments, or maybe the notebook was hidden behind the books somewhere? But nope. As expected, there was nothing that even looked like it could be a notebook. So he moved on the the next hiding spot.

That would be the locked cupboard. No real reason, it just… felt right. He couldn’t explain it, he just wanted to try out this one. Once more, he used his tools to pick the lock and unlock the cupboard. He carefully slid open the door and looked inside. It was strangely organised - though he had seen how Macauley worked, and he shouldn’t even be surprised at this point. The man was way more organised than Roman would ever be in his entire life ever. He saw dozens of binders, books and papers, yet it was still structured and neat. How Macauley managed to achieve this level of neatness was a mystery. During his search of the cupboard, Roman found a bunch of old assignments, notes, lesson plans. He even stumbled upon a few tests, some old, some new. He considered taking a picture of the pages, but resisted the urge. It wasn’t what he came for, and he didn’t want to get sidetracked. He was looking for something more important than a few tests. If he still had enough time, he could maybe take some pictures once he got the notebook.

But again, the notebook was not in the cupboard. Not in any of the binders, not hidden in a book, not underneath any stray paper, not behind or beneath anything. It wasn’t there. So it had to be in one of the desk drawers. It just had to be. Because otherwise, they would have a problem.

Making sure that he locked the cupboard again, the teen walked away and approached the desk. This was the most tricky one of all. It was easy to shove the contents of the drawers aside, and if he messed it up even slightly, Macauley might notice that someone had gone through his stuff. And that was a no-go. He had to avoid any suspicion.

Roman opened the first drawer as gently as he could, and carefully leaved through all of the notes and the few notebooks he found. Using his telekinesis to try and hold the smaller pages on top in place, he searched everything. But the first drawer didn’t give him anything useful. No sketches, no tech, nothing.

So he went on to the second drawer, but as he was working on the drawer, Roman noticed a silhouette appearing in front of the window of the door. Through the closed blinds he could kind of see someone standing in front of the door. He cursed under his breath and ducked behind the desk, quietly closing the drawer as he heard the door opening. This was  _ not _ part of the plan. Roman was supposed to try to obtain the notebook and text Virgil if he couldn’t find them. Only then would they try to lure Logan out of the classroom. But Roman hadn’t even  _ thought  _ about sending Virgil a text yet. He hadn’t finished his search of the office yet. This wasn’t supposed to happen!

“Roman?” the voice that belonged to Logan Macauley called out. Roman heard the door closing again, followed by just a few footsteps. He froze, pushing himself closer to the desk.

Class wasn’t supposed to be over. Macauley wasn’t supposed to be here. Why was he here? Why did he even call out for him? How did he know? Maybe… maybe if Roman stayed hidden behind the desk, Logan might think he wasn’t there?

“Roman, I know you are in here,” his teacher continued, closing the door as he stepped into the office. “The door was unlocked. You can come out now.”

For a second, the teenager considered to do nothing, but he soon realised that that would achieve literally nothing. Logan seemed to be pretty sure that he was here - he wondered how he knew, though - and pretending like he wasn’t here might not lead to anything. It didn’t seem like the other was going to give up any time soon.

“Ugh, fine,” he groaned as he got up. “You caught me, good job.”

“What are you doing here?” Logan asked. He had his arms crossed and looked at Roman with an unreadable expression.

“Just hanging out,” the teen shrugged casually, trying not to show that he was actually secretly panicking. “What are  _ you  _ doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be teaching?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be  _ in  _ that class?”

Roman halted for a second. “Touché.”

Logan scoffed slightly, managing a small smile for just a fraction of a second before he returned to his usual stoic demeanour. “You are aware that you are trespassing, are you?” he asked the hero.

“Eh- no I’m not,” Roman retorted quickly, the corners of his mouth carefully forming a tiny smirk. “I am just hanging out in school. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Just chilling. I’m allowed to be at school, you know?”

“And you are ‘just chilling’ while looking through my private belongings and skipping my class,” Logan added pointedly. “Besides, how exactly did you get in?” He tilted his head slightly, knowing that Roman would have a hard time answering that. Roman absolutely hated that look on his face. It was way too smug.

He bit the inside of his lip slightly, pondering his response. He hadn’t thought of an excuse for this. Didn’t think he would need it, after all. “Door was open,” he answered with slight hesitance, avoiding his teacher’s eyes. At this point, he was just trying to stall, or to get a good reason to leave. After all, he knew that Logan was Hellfire, Logan knew that he was Creativity, and they both knew that the other was aware of this. So honestly, lying was useless anyways. Logan had probably already put two and two together. But even then, lying was better than admitting the truth. He was not going to tell his nemesis all his secrets and plans like some kind of movie villain. So even if he could cover up his plans for a minute, he’d be content.

“No, it wasn’t. I always lock the door when I leave. To keep out nosy students like yourself.”

“You… forgot?”

“Impossible, I know for a fact that I locked it,” Logan stated, still looking at Roman with his piercing gaze. It was as if he hadn’t moved at all since coming in. Was this his way of intimidating Roman into confessing? Because if it was, it was… almost working. “I hope you are aware that I can get you suspended for this.”

Roman scoffed, hardly impressed. Actually, no he really was kind of intimidated by this. But he acted like he wasn’t. “No you can’t,” he retorted. “Because I’m not actually doing anything wrong. You can’t prove anything. And besides,  _ Hellfire  _ would probably kill me before you could even try to do something anyways. Just like all the other criminals in town. If what I’m doing is really as illegal as you make it out ot be.”

He gave his teacher a meaningful look, and he was slightly glad to see the other tensing up slightly, before he regained his composure again. “You won't find it here.”

The teen raised an eyebrow. “Won't find what here?” He asked, deciding to play dumb for now. He didn't know if Logan  _ knew _ what he was looking for, or if he was bluffing in the hopes that Roman would surrender.

“Don’t play dumb, Roman,” the older man scolded. “We both know that you know better than that.”

“Bold of you to assume I know anything,” Roman muttered under his breath. “I don’t… know a lot. Nothing. I know nothing.”

From the look on his face, Logan clearly wasn’t in the mood for Roman’s stupid comments. Which was fair, the teen decided. Someone  _ did  _ just break into his office to look through his stuff. He’d probably be pissed himself if someone did it to him. Especially if that someone was such a pain in the ass as Roman was at the moment. 

“You know what I mean,” Logan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I suggest you leave now. Whatever you’re looking for, it won’t be here.”

Roman was so tempted to stay, just  _ because  _ Logan told him to leave. It made him think that the notebook would be here after all. That maybe, he had missed a super secret hiding spot. But his gut told him that his teacher was telling the truth. That the notebook wouldn’t be here. So maybe he would just have to give in and leave. Maybe that way, he could get away easy with this whole failed infiltration. He would have to find another way to get his hands on the notebook. 

“Fine,” he finally conceded. “But not because you told me to.”

After class had ended, Virgil and Roman briefly managed to meet up while heading to their next classes. “I didn’t find it,” Roman announced softly, checking his surroundings for listening ears. It seemed that no one was paying attention to them. “Why did Macauley come? That wasn’t the plan.”

“I know, I know,” Virgil groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. “But I... don’t know. I tried to stall him, but it didn’t work. It was as if he was onto us.”

“Great.” Roman scowled slightly as he shifted the weight of his bag. “Guess it’s onto plan B then, if it will even work.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Virgil mumbled. “I might have… taken it.”

“You did?” Momentarily, Roman forgot everything he knew about trying to stay silent and unnoticed. His eyes widened as he grinned. “Oh my god, you are incredible! I could kiss you right now- I mean… not in a weird way. Just… the figurative way. Obviously.” He looked away as he stammered the last few sentences, ending with a cough. “That’s great! We  _ have  _ to check it out during lunch.”

“Well duh. We better take it outside, I’m assuming?”

“Probably for the best,” Roman nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

He gave his friend one last grin as they parted ways, going to their next classes. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. They had the notebook. They could see if it really held the secrets to Logan’s tech. Maybe, they could even find out how to beat him. This simple fact gave him so much more hope for the future. They might actually be able to pull this off.

After their next class, Roman and Patton met up with Virgil again, in the same spot where they had met exactly a week before that. 

“I really can’t believe you pulled this off,” Roman grinned. He bounced ever so slightly as Virgil pulled the infamous notebook out of his bag, and upon seeing it, Roman realised that it did seem kind of familiar. Of course, it wasn’t special in any way. It looked like any other notebook with black and blue cover, but there was something familiar about it. Roman felt like he’d seen this before at some point. But that might just be the fact that it looked like literally any other notebook. “How did you even get away with it?”

“Told the others I was looking for the next test and hid the notebook in my hoodie,” he admitted with a disbelieving scoff. “Can believe that fucking worked.”

“Who cares? We have it now! Let’s check it out!” Roman was clearly unable to contain his curiosity and excitement to find out what secrets this notebook would hold. And his friends weren’t stopping him, as they wanted to know as well. Only they were slightly better at acting... normal, for the lack of a better word. 

Roman opened the notebook and started leafing through it, studying its content. The first few pages weren’t much. A few random notes and scribbles, not much that seemed important to their cause. But then, he found more interesting contents. Names of people; some were crossed out - three to be exact - some were underlined, or had an arrow or two pointing at them. Names of possible victims, Roman reasoned. 

The few pages that followed contained some sketches for suits, with a few notes written next to them. And the pages after that even contained designs for gadgets and weapons. Everything was there. Based on the notes written next to them, Roman recognized the device that had shocked him multiple times - along with a few drawings that seemed to be early drafts of the same device. It looked like a metal bracelet, with a few pins sticking out of it. The teenager didn’t quite understand how it worked or what powered the bracelet, but it seemed that the tips of those pins were able to generate the electric pulses that kept knocking him of his feet, so if he would manage to break those...

“I think we hit a jackpot,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned the page again. “We can use this to prove that it’s him. It’s all there.”

There were no words to describe his excitement. This was… this was everything he could’ve hoped for, and even more. If they could analyse this, figure out what all these things meant… they could use this. Strategize around it. 

“We should take pictures,” Roman suggested, “that way, all of us have the notes and we can all read through them when we have the chance.”

“Gotcha,” Patton nodded as he reached for his phone. “I can send them later?”

“Awesome! Maybe we can meet up later to discuss? I’d feel way more comfortable doing that at home than here out in the open, you know?”

“Definitely,” Virgil agreed. “How about this weekend?”

Roman hummed in agreement. “I gotta work on Saturday, but Sunday would work for me.”

“Sounds good,” Patton said, still taking pictures of the pages of the notebook.

After a few minutes that were spent in mostly silence, with a few discussions of when they were going to meet up, an announcement was made over the loudspeaker, announcing that ‘a staff member’ was missing a ‘black and blue notebook’ and that they needed it back. The students would be given until the end of the schoolday to hand it back or, if they knew who did it, tell a staff member about it. If this did nothing, they would have to search bags and lockers in search of the notebook. 

Which means they were fucked. 

Yes, it had been kind of dumb to assume they would just get away with stealing some notebook, but somewhere, there had been the hope that it would work. Macauley would never blow his cover and reveal his identity, and maybe there was the tiny glimmer of hope that he wouldn’t notice the notebook’s absence until the end of the day. Which was ridiculous, as he was definitely smart enough to keep an eye on something that could reveal his true identity so easily. Nevertheless, the three teens did have the pictures of the sketches, so they had the information, no matter what would happen. So maybe, there was something they could do. If they played it wisely… maybe there was a chance they could get away with this. Or maybe....

“Well, shit,” Virgil whispered sharply as the announcement finished. 

Roman glanced at the notebook that was still lying on the table. Which had just become way more dangerous than it already was. Without hesitation, he grabbed in and put it in his bag. “I think I’ve got a plan,” he told his friends, “don’t worry.” 

And he did. There was no way that they could sneak the notebook out of school unseen, not when they would check their bags. He had made a promise to his friends that if something went wrong, he would take the blame. And that was exactly was he was planning on doing. He would take the notebook and take all the blame for the theft. It was his plan after all, and it was his fault this was happening. He would have taken it himself, even if Virgil hadn’t agreed to help him. So no matter what; it was his fault, and he would have to take the blame. 

At first, he thought about turning himself in after detention, when his friends couldn’t stop him. But that thought was quickly dismissed, as it would still put people through unnecessary bag searches - and a huge violation of privacy. So it had to happen before school ended. 

Which is why Roman got up a few minutes before break ended, saying that he wanted to check something in the library real quick. After having made sure that Paton had taken pictures of every pages in the book, he left his friends, to bring the notebook back. And possibly kill his entire academic career. 

The hero walked to Macauley’s office, knocked twice, and waited until a voice told him he could get in. He then opened the door and stepped inside. 

“Just a moment,” Logan said as he finished typing something on his computer. He didn’t shoot Roman a single glance as he did so, not even to verify the identity of whoever just walked in. Not that Roman would bother if he was in his shoes. He probably already knew, given… what happened earlier this day. 

“Right,” he nodded, “I won’t be long. I just wanted to…” He reached into his bag and pulled out the notebook. “Return this. That’s all.”

Finally, Logan looked up and his eyes shot to the notebook the teen held out to him. His expression didn’t change in the slightest; he hardly even acknowledged it, acted like it was of no importance. 

“Ah, of course,” he nodded as he gestured to the desk, silently telling Roman to put the book there. “Thank you, Roman.”

“Yep.” Roman popped the ‘p’ as he stood there in awkward silence for a bit, not really knowing what to say or what to do. “I took it, by the way. Dumb move I suppose, but…”

Logan looked up at Roman, and kept his gaze there for a few moments, and Roman was sure he would say something about how there was no way that that was true. After all, at the time of disappearance the notebook was in Macauley’s bag, which was in his classroom. And there had been fairly little time for Roman to snatch it. But there was nothing he could do to prove otherwise. He had no ground to blame anyone else for it.

“Very well,” the teacher finally spoke. “There will be consequences, as I am sure you’ll know. You will hear about this.”

“Of course.” Roman picked up his bag again and swung it over his shoulders. The bell was about to ring any second, so he wanted to be ready to leave as soon as he could. “If that’s all…” 

“Yeah, of course,” Logan said with a nod. “You can go.”

“Awesome.” Immediately, Roman turned around and left the office, heading to history. This might have been a dumb move, and Virgil would never approve of this. Which is exactly why he hadn’t told him about this idea. He was not going to allow his friend to get in trouble when he was already hesitant about doing this in the first place. This was Roman’s idea, and he was the one who had to take responsibility. It was only logical, right? 

At some point during history, an announcement was made that the culprit had been found and they would face the appropriate consequences. Roman could basically feel Virgil’s burning gaze. After all, he  _ knew  _ who really had stolen the notebook, and he also knew that he had not turned himself in. On top of that, he knew that Roman had said he ‘had a solution’, and that Roman would never sell him out like that, so… there only was one real possibility here. He had taken the blame. What an absolute dumbass.

Roman tried to avoid the looks his friend was sending him from the other side of the room as he listened to his teacher and worked on his homework. He couldn’t avoid confrontation forever, but he could at least put it off a little bit. But he knew that Virgil would want to talk about this eventually. Of course he would, Roman couldn’t blame him. He would have felt the same way if things were the other way around. 

After class, Roman tried to get out of the classroom as quickly as he could. It might sound dumb, but he did not want to talk to Virgil. He knew Virgil was going to want to talk to  _ him _ , but he… he didn’t want to. He did want to explain why he did what he did, and to justify his actions. But there was no escaping it. 

Even if he packed his bag quickly, Virgil seemed to notice his hurry and he was even quicker. Just as Roman headed to the door, his friend caught up to him. 

“Why did you do that?” he asked sharply as they stepped into the corridor. 

“What do you mean?” Roman decided to play dumb for a bit, hoping that he could keep this up long enough that they would have to go to their next class. 

“You know what I mean.”

“I honestly don’t.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and leaned a bit closer to Roman, to be able to talk without anyone overhearing. “Roman, now is not the time to play dumb,” he hissed softly. “You told them you stole the notebook, right?”

“Oh,  _ that _ ,” Roman responded, acting like their proximity wasn’t making his heart beat out of control. “Maybe.”

“Why?”

“Keeping a promise to a friend,” the teen hero shrugged as he stopped in front of his classroom. “I told you I’d take the blow if things went wrong, and I did.”

Virgil glared for one second, mind racing to think of an appropriate response. “Roman…” 

“I got you into this,” Roman interrupted his friend, “so it’s only fair. Besides, I made a promise. And it’s done now anyways, so there’s nothing you can do.”

For a few more seconds, Virgil kept up his glare, before shaking his head. “Have I told you you’re a dumbass?” 

“Only a thousand times,” the other retorted with a cheeky grin. “You better head to class, though. Don’t wanna be late.”

“Yeah… you’re still an idiot.”

Roman grinned as he slowly took a step into his classroom. “Maybe, but at least I’m your idiot.”

“In your dreams, Palmer,” Virgil muttered as he flipped his friend off, before turning around to go to his last class of the day. 


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mentions of an anesthesia, mentions of injury

After another meeting with the counselor a few days later, Roman was sentenced to one week of in-school suspension. It could have been worse, he reasoned. He didn’t quite know how, but surely… this wasn’t the worst outcome. It wasn’t pretty, but he was still in school. Which was good enough. It could have been a lot worse, considering that he did  _ steal _ something.

Granted, his mother wasn’t too thrilled about him stealing a teacher’s notebook, but the look in her eyes told him that she had expected something of the sort. Maybe not actual theft, but… something equally as stupid. Roman was impulsive, and while he wasn’t  _ dumb _ , he was a giant idiot, and it wasn’t completely out of character for him to do something as ridiculous as this. Especially now that she knew he was a superhero. But she had hoped that it would be a little bit longer before she would get an announcement of this kind. 

Roman tried to explain how significant this notebook could be to their operation, but she still wasn’t sure how to approach this situation. Yes, he meant well, and he needed this information. But he still stole something. Which was still technically illegal. All this superhero kind of stuff was still new to her, and she decided to stay away from it as much as she could. Until she knew how to handle it, at least.

On Sunday, Patton and Virgil came over, like arranged. They had decided to meet at Roman’s place, as Megan knowing about Creativity made things a whole lot easier. At least they didn’t have to sneak around and make up some half-baked lie about what they were doing. 

“Okay, so let’s talk business,” Roman started as soon as his friends sat down.

“Someone’s eager,” Virgil muttered with a slight tease to his voice. 

“Yeah, well…” the hero shrugged. “I want to do this correctly. I really want to get rid of this guy and get it over with once and for all. I’m sick of going in circles. If we don’t find something soon, people are going to die eventually.”

He ran his hands through his hair, letting out a nervous breath. He didn’t know why he was so scared of this. It felt as if everything was depending on this very day, on this very meeting. And it was bullshit, and he knew it. But it didn’t change his feelings. He was so scared of failing, of being unable to protect the town. That’s why he had to do this well. That’s why he had to defeat Logan as quickly as he could. Because he didn’t want anyone else to fall victim to his twisted sense of justice. 

“Valid,” Virgil nodded as he reached for his phone. “So… thoughts?”

Roman shrugged as he unlocked his phone to look at the pictures. “I’m thinking that this is some good shit,” he muttered absentmindedly. “I definitely recognize some of this stuff.”

“Yeah?” Patton questioned, tilting his head. “Like what?”

“Well… I’m not sure, but you see that bracelet thing, with the pins on it?” He scrolled through his pictures to find the one he meant. “Right, this one.” He held it up to his friends and continued: “I think that this is what he used a few times, I don’t know how it works, but it releases this… blast of energy that sent me back quite a bit. Like some… sort of- some sort of force. I think I might be able to disable it if I destroy those small pins, cause if the drawing is correct, that’s where the pulse comes from. I just… need to hit them hard enough, I think. Then they’ll bend and he won’t be able to use them. That shouldn’t be that hard, right?” 

“It’s worth a shot,” Patton agreed. “I think it could really work, if you can find an opportunity to do so.”

“I’m fairly sure that shouldn’t be an issue,” Roman reassured his friend. “Do you guys have any thoughts?”

“Well, not on  _ that _ ,” Virgil murmured, “but I did do some research on something with those… I don’t know, those claw things.”

Roman tilted his head, listening to his friend with interest as the other searched something on his phone. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “There was a small note on the side, eh-  _ ‘Vec. Br. + I.p. _ ’, I think.”

“Oh, yeah!” Patton said as he remembered the cryptic note. To be fair, most notes were cryptic to him, but that was mostly because he wasn’t too keen on the technological terms. He was more of a language guy than a tech guy. But this particular thing was something that struck him as odd. More odd than the technological jargon. “What was that about?”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Virgil continued. “I did some research and I couldn’t find anything about the ‘i.p.’ that seemed relevant, but I think ‘Vec. Br.’ might stand for ‘Vecr- vecuronium bromide.”

“Is that.. am I supposed to know what that means?” Roman frowned as he crossed his arms. 

“I don’t think so,” the other responded as he scrolled through something on his phone. “It’s some sort of… anesthesia that relaxes the muscles. It’s used to make sure people can’t move during surgery and mess it up. Which kinda resembles what happened to you, right? It’s also usually injected, which… fits..”

“That doesn’t explain the burning patch of skin on my chest, though,” the hero countered. “Which is still warm, by the way.”

“I know. I think that’s the ‘i.p.’ part, but I have no idea what that is,” the other shrugged. “I couldn’t find anything. Well… anything that makes sense.”

“Well, it’s something,” Patton tried optimistically. “That’s better than nothing, right?”

Roman nodded, but didn’t respond as he took a few moments to think about this. Could it be true? It wasn’t completely implausible, especially since the abbreviations matched, and the effects also sounded right. Except that Roman had still been able to move. Sure, he had next to no power and he couldn’t do anything, but he could still move. Did that mean something went wrong? Or maybe the chemical had been diluted? The notes seemed to point in that direction, so maybe that weakened the effect. Maybe it was because of the ‘i.p.’ thing.

It did raise the question of  _ why _ , as well. Why had Logan done this? Why use something that would only temporarily render him useless? Why not kill him immediately? It was all so… weird. That was the only way he could describe this.  _ Weird _ . It didn’t add up. Logan- or,  _ Hellfire _ , I should say, had always been a mystery. There were so many chances that he could have killed the hero. Pretty much all of their confrontations ended in an opportunity for the villain, and he didn’t take it. Roman had pretty much figured out that the other had some weird morals, where he decided to only kill criminals, but it didn’t make sense. If he was a villain, he would have killed his opponent the first chance he got. Killing them meant that he would have more chances to do what he wanted without being stopped. If he kept the enemy alive, they could only try to stop him even more times. So why Logan hadn’t done this already… he didn’t know. 

But then again… Logan  _ did  _ throw him out of a window that one time. 

And he had thrown fireballs at him. 

Yeah… he really had strange morals. 


	25. Chapter 25

** _Creativity is a menace_ **

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ @ whoever changed the name, I will kill you _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ that why youre a menace, buddy _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Shut it, JJ _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ :// _

** _[Virgil]:_ ** _ anywayss _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ hows iss goin for ya? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Its… something lmao _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Not great, but… Ill survive, I guess _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Just suckd that you literally cant do anything _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Like aparently even looking outside is bad because “oh no youre not doin your work thats a bad oh no” _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ And we gotta sit in a chair like straight ppl :// _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ oof sounds rough _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Eh Ill live _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ hopefully _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ … yeah _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Just four more days _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ optimism _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Fuck yeah dyde _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ I can survive this, ive had worse _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ thats the spirit _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ :) _


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, injuries, drugging, passing out

Yeah, ISS wasn’t… _ fun _ . There were so many rules - and to be fair, Roman couldn’t keep up with them all. No talking, no eating or drinking, no getting up without reason and permission, no leaning back in your chair, no looking outside, no sleeping. Okay the last one was reasonable, but in Roman’s honest opinion, the others were complete bullshit. But then again, that probably was the entire point. To be so bullshit that students would try _ not _to get into ISS. 

In general, the idea wasn’t bad. Roman actually preferred being able to make some assignments by himself, in his own pace - relatively, as there was a set amount of work he needed to get done in a day. But it was still pretty nice to be able to just work; that’s how Roman learnt best anyway. He preferred to work and figure things out himself over listening to someone droning on and on about a topic he could just read about. But the whole setup around ISS, that’s what was bullshit and stupid. But that was just his opinion. 

Other than all of that, it was actually quite doable, and definitely better than he had expected. Though to be fair, the only thing he knew about ISS beforehand were dumb school rumours that exaggerated every single detail. So basically, he had no expectations, because everyone knew those rumours were exaggerated. But everyone still kept spreading them like some sort of horror story. 

On top of that, he was more than prepared to suffer the consequences for stealing the notebook. The information that they got from that theft was a huge help in trying to plan his next moves, and he would do it again if he could. Without hesitation. 

But even then, he was relieved when the week was over, and he could go back to just attending class normally. Now that was a sentence he never thought he would even _ think _. 

On Monday, Patton could pick his friend up with his mother’s car again. By the time the blue car pulled up, Roman was already done and waiting outside. It was mid-June and exceptionally warm. Stupid fucking climate change. 

The end of the school year was approaching, which obviously meant that every single teacher wanted to burden their students with even more assignments to wrap up the curriculum for the school year. Which meant even _ less _ free time. Especially for certain students who had a secret double life. And that sucked, but… he could handle it. Just two more weeks, and he would finally be released. He could survive this until the end of the year. Just two more weeks. 

“Hey.” Roman flashed Patton a small smile as he sat down in the passenger’s seat. He dropped his bag and jacket on the floor. “Lovely weather, huh?”

Patton chuckled as he took off again. “You can say that,” he said with a small nod, “Looks like the sun has taken a_ shin_e to us.”

“Oh my god,” the other groaned, pretending to be annoyed despite the tiny smile growing on his lips. “Do that again and I’m yeeting myself out of the car.”

Patton pouted in response. “You’re no fun,” he muttered teasingly. 

“No, no, I’m fun,” Roman defended, “your puns just aren’t.”

“Oh, so you’re saying they’re no…”

“Don’t…”

“_ Pun _?” 

Roman fell back against the chair in an exaggerated manner and sighed loudly. “That’s it, I’m getting out.”

“Be careful, though,” Patton told him casually. 

“I’ve been thrown out of a building and survived that,” the teenage hero pointed out. “How bad can this be?”

“You’re right, how bad can it be? It’s only a moving car you’re jumping out of.”

Roman snorted. “Virgil’s rubbing off on you,” he concluded. “You’re spending too much time with him.”

As soon as he said those words, Roman realised that he had made a mistake. The way Patton’s eyes lit up predicted something - while completely harmless - would not bode well for him. 

“Speaking of,” his friend started slyly, “how have things been between the two of you?”

“Things?” Roman asked, looking away to cover up the fact that his face started to burn with embarrassment. 

“Yeah,” Patton nodded. “_ Things _.”

“I- I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The words came out rushed and half-audible. Roman knew very well what Patton meant- or at least, he thought he did. By now, he knew his friend well enough to see through him. But he was not planning on responding to those comments, mostly because right now, he was not planning on pursuing anything romantic with Virgil - and he was fairly sure that Patton was referring to that. Because yes, as you might have noticed, he really did like Virgil. A lot. But he really liked his friendship with Virgil as well, and he was afraid that a romantic relationship would not work out - assuming that the other would even consent to that, obviously, because that was another issue altogether. Roman was scared of making his friend uncomfortable by confessing his love, and ruining their friendship in the process. It was tricky, and he really liked having Virgil on Team Creativity. He did not want to mess up all of that. 

“All I’m saying is… you should just ask Virgil out some time,” Patton said with a shrug. “Maybe in the summer vacation?”

Roman shook his head and a vague smile tugged the corners of his mouth up. “Pat, I… no. It… it’s too complicated.”

“What, is this some sort of superhero trope?” Patton wondered. “The part where you don’t want to go out with someone because it’s too dangerous? In case villains find out and try to kidnap them to get to you?”

“No it’s not that, it’s just…” Roman trailed off as he started to think. _ Wasn’t it though _? Maybe it was. Or- not literally. But maybe part of the problem was him not wanting to put Virgil in unnecessary danger. He wasn’t sure, but it sounded more than plausible, honestly. “Okay, maybe it’s a small part of it, but it’s still complicated. I just don’t… want to ruin our friendship, or make him uncomfortable, you know?”

“No, no, I get it! You don’t have to do it, I’m just saying… You might like it… He might like it… that’s all.”

Roman looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow and hummed. Of course that’s what Patton meant. He wasn’t trying to play matchmaker at all. 

“I’ll think about it,” he eventually conceded. “Happy?”

Patton stopped to think for a second, but finally nodded, knowing that was all he was going to get out of his friend at the moment. “Yeah,” he said, “I can live with that.”

It was honestly a relief to go back to class, just… normally. Class wasn’t _ good _, but at least it wasn’t as suffocatingly strict as ISS had been. Especially for Roman, who could not always keep focused for hours on end with only a minimal break, it was fairly shitty. At least in class, he could look out of the window and dream off. Most of the time. Especially with the end of the year approaching and everyone losing focus and motivation, teachers had more trouble getting through the curriculum than in the beginning of the year. Although a few teachers seemed to have given up already. It was just a few more weeks, after all. 

The rest of the week passed with fairly little of importance happening. Roman got a few grades on assignments from various subjects - he passed all of them, luckily. He trained, he patrolled, and nothing happened.

Until Friday came along. After kickboxing, Roman wanted to patrol the streets a little bit. He was not planning on staying out for long, but just a quick stroll through the neighbourhood on his way back would do it. For today. He hoped that on a Friday night, people would be a bit tamer so he could get away with not staying out for too long. 

As he hopped from building to building, the teenage hero noticed a few shady looking guys in the streets below him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something in the way they behaved just seemed… off. Like they were planning to do something bad. So, Roman decided to follow them for a bit, to see if they would do anything. 

He followed them for a while, but fairly little happened. The men whispered to each other, looked around every once in a while, and took shady shortcuts. But other than that, they didn’t seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary. 

Roman had just decided to wait for a few more minutes and track them for just a little bit before going home, when something happened. The quartet of men stopped, just before a small and narrow alleyway. They whispered a bit and finally, one of them walked on, while the other three stepped into the alley, softly and slowly walking up to the one person who was hoping to get home a little bit quicker. Typical horror story cliche. Well, Roman was not going to let them have their way. 

He jumped down into the alley, putting himself between the three guys and their intended victim. “Get out of here,” he told them as he got his sword and shield as he did so. “I got this.”

As the hero turned towards the three criminals, the would-be victim made their way out of the alley, not hesitating a second to get to the safety of a crowd.

“No crimes today, I’m afraid,” Creativity shrugged. “I’m sorry to disappoint.”

The smirk that the man in front bore on his face made the hero feel… uncomfortable. Something was happening, and it wasn’t a good thing. If he could figure out what it was… 

“Oh don’t worry,” the man told him. “You could never disappoint.”

Then, he lunged forwards with a balled fist, trying to throw a punch Roman could just block with his shield. Even then, he felt the force of the punch and stumbled back just two steps. He quickly responded by kicking at the criminal’s legs, trying to catch him off balance. But just as he did so, one of the men in front of him aimed a punch at his jaw, with enough force to throw him into the wall. 

Roman was just in time to see another fist aimed at his temple and he quickly fell to his knees to dodge it. he used his sword to swipe at the pair of legs he saw in front of him - it was still dull, so no serious injury was done. Hopefully. As he saw the criminal falling down, the hero got up and tried to kick one of the others in the stomach, but they sidestepped and caused Creativity to lose his balance, again. He almost fell forwards, but someone grabbed onto his cape and pulled him back roughly. 

Maybe Virgil had been right about the cape being a danger.

The hero fell back, and he was pretty sure that this would leave various scrapes and bruises on his shoulder, as he hit the pavement with a loud thud. 

He saw a leg trying to kick his rib. It managed to get a few kicks in, but after a few moments Roman got himself to focus all his telekinetic powers on the limb, trying to stop it in its tracks as he jumped up. It took him a lot of effort, but it worked. 

But this time, the third guy had gotten up again and joined his two buddies once more. Roman was about to lunge forwards and aim an attack that the trio again, but he was unable to move, held back by- something. 

It took him about a second to notice that his cape was stuck on something. 

It took him one second longer to realise that it was actually being pulled back.

And the next moment, the teen became aware of a sting in the back of his neck, but by the time he reached up to feel what it was, it was gone. He blinked a few times, feeling hazy and vague, but he didn’t stop fighting. He couldn’t give up. That wasn’t his thing. 

Roman took a step back and bumped into another body. Vaguely, he remembered that he had seen four people before, but only three were in front of him. The other guy must be behind them.

There was no way for him to walk out of here. He had to fight his way out.

But with every punch he threw, with every second that passed, Roman felt more and more tired, and he knew that something was wrong. This was not- someone must have drugged him. Oh- oh no. That was… that was bad. Very, extremely, super bad. If he was correct… he had to get out of here. Before they could kill him - or worse. He had to… 

Slowly, the teen started backing up, trying to find his way out of the alley. He vaguely knew the neighbourhood. He had been in the area a few times, when he and Emile were working on a history project, and he had been to a few parties the other teen had thrown. Somewhere here had to be his house. And yes, even in his half-conscious state of mind, he knew that Emile’s house automatically meant Logan’s house, but even despite that, he had no choice. He was drugged, and it was four against one; if he stayed here for much longer, he would most certainly die. And it would not be pretty. He was very aware of that. 

He took a few more steps, but the guys followed him, and they kept going and they didn’t stop. They weren’t planning on stopping, on backing up, or letting him get away in peace. He felt so nauseous and everything was spinning and he just wanted it to stop but it never did. He was too dazed to dodge the punches and kicks the criminals threw his way, his reflexes didn’t seem to work quick enough to notice approaching danger, and it hurt. His entire body hurt so much, but he wasn’t awake enough to do anything against his attackers. He was so tired and everything hurt and he felt like he was going to pass out in a matter of seconds if it continued like this.

Just then, he heard a voice. It was vague and distant, slightly familiar, even if Roman was sure he had never heard it before. But it wasn’t one of the criminals before him, that he knew. A bright flash of light followed, and a few more after that. And then, the new voice told him to get out. Roman wasn’t sure who was talking to him, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t listen. He knew very well that he had to leave. And with no guarantee that using his powers to get up to the rooftops would pass safely in this state, he knew he had to go to the one house he knew. His enemy’s place. 

Roman lifted his hand and tried to conjure up a grappling hook anyways, wanting to be sure that he couldn’t do anything himself. But as he tried… nothing happened. His hand just shook a bit, but nothing happened. So he really had no choice, then. 

With every passing step, his legs grew heavier and everything started spinning more and more, and he felt nauseous and tired, but he had to go. 

The teen hero slowly counted down the numbers, getting closer and closer to his destination. By this time, he had to lean on anything in his way in order to not fall over. It was hard, nearly impossible. But with a sigh of relief, Roman realised that he had reached the house he was looking for. And he was still alive. Conscious. 

He stumbled forwards. Just a few more steps. Even in his state, he knew that this was dumb. But he needed help. He couldn’t just pass out on the street, either. So… this was the best. His home was too far away, so were Patton’s and Virgil’s. This was his only option. 

Roman’s hand trembled as he rang the doorbell, a task that cost him way too much effort. The bell sounded shrill, and it kind of hurt his ears, but at the same time, he hardly even noticed it. As he waited, Roman let his hand rest against the wall underneath the bell. If he had to, he could ring it again in a second. And if he didn’t… he still had something to prevent him from fully collapsing. Sort of. 

Just as he started to lose hope, the door opened. At this point, Roman was fairly certain he was going to pass out. Black dots spotted his vision and everything was blurry. He could barely even distinguish one brick from another. It felt hopeless, _ he _ felt hopeless. But then there was this bright flood of light, and as it reflected off the golden details in his suit, Roman realised that he was still _ wearing his suit _. 

“Roman?” 

After everything he had learned, Roman had never thought that he would be relieved to hear his teacher’s voice. But here he was. 

“Y- yeah,” he stammered, struggling to even stay upright. “Sorry. I di- didn’t know wh- where to go.”

Just at he had uttered these words, he felt he legs giving in and it only took him a second to black out. 


	27. Chapter 27

When he woke up, the first thing Roman noticed, was the enormous headache he had. The second thing he noticed was that everything hurt like hell. And the final thing he noticed was… he was laying on something soft. And he was warm. But… how- he was outside, fighting bad guys just a second ago. How was this even possible? What happened?

With a groan, the hero opened his eyes, trying to find out where he was. For a second, he feared for the worst. That some weird guys had kidnapped him and now they were going to do all sorts of unspeakable things to him. But when his eyes finally worked again, he realised… that this place actually looked _ nice _. And not at all like a creepy basement. It was a small living room, with one blue wall bordered by white ones. A small coffee table, a- wait. He knew this place. 

Just as he was starting to recognize where he was, someone walked into the living room. It was a face that Roman felt like he knew, yet it wasn’t one he could place. No name came to mind. 

“You’re awake, huh?” they asked him gently as they stepped further. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” the teen responded hoarsely as he ran a hand through his hair. “May I ask… who are you?”

The stranger chuckled as they grabbed a water bottle from the kitchen table. “Remy,” they told him. “Logan’s spouse. You know him, right?”

Oh, right. They were Emile’s parent. Roman probably saw them once during the project they did together. That’s why they looked familiar. 

“Here,” Remy said as they opened the bottle, holding it out to the teenager. “You should drink something.”

Roman nodded as he took it. His hand was still slightly shaking and it felt extremely heavy, almost unable to move. And he tried, he tried to hard, to remember what had happened, but he didn’t know. No matter how hard he tried… he was fighting some people. And then… he must have blacked out. 

He remembered a small pinch in his neck… 

“What happened?” he asked softly, sipping the drink he had gotten. He was fairly oblivious to the fact that he was still wearing his suit, that the mask had been taken off and that he was talking to a complete stranger in this state. Or maybe he knew this, but he just… chose to ignore all of that. 

“I’m not quite sure myself,” they responded truthfully as they sat down on a chair next to the couch. “Seems you’ve been drugged, but that’s all I can tell.”

He’d been drugged? When did that- oh. The pinch in his neck. That must have been it. 

“Oh.” He didn’t really know what to say at this point. He didn’t know Remy that well, and he was way too tired to put effort into making small talk when he clearly didn’t want to. He had never been good at small talk, but with his head throbbing as much as it did right now, he was even worse. It was as if thinking was impossible in itself already. “I’m sorry for… this. I didn’t really… know where to go.”

“No worries, kid,” Remy said with a gentle smile. “You did the right thing. Can’t imagine that was easy for you.” 

Seeing Roman’s frown at this odd comment, the adult nodded at his suit. And when Roman looked down, he realised that he was still in his Creativity-suit. That.. might have been a mistake. But could he really blame past-him for not thinking of this in his drugged up state? Probably not, right? It was a miracle he had even thought to find a safe place somewhere.

“Oh, right,” he muttered, not looking up at the other. “You… know, then?”

They nodded in confirmation. “I do.”

Roman gave a small nod - but stopped quickly, as his head didn’t agree with this sudden movement. He didn’t know what to think. Remy knew that Logan was Hellfire? And they didn’t do anything? 

“Don’t worry,” they quickly added as they saw the expression on Roman’s face, “I’m great at keeping secrets, it’s safe with me.”

Roman managed a small smile as he took another sip from the bottle in his hand. He really wanted to be able to get up and go home, but he felt too weak and frail to do so. His head hurt like hell, his throat was dry, his limbs were heavy and not functioning properly. This whole situation was a huge mess. 

“I gotta say, it took some balls coming here after everything you pulled,” they continued casually.

“After everything _ I _ pulled?” Roman repeated with a soft scoff. As if _ he _ was the villain. As if _ he _was the one murdering people just because they were deemed criminals, or bad people. 

Remy hummed softly. “Yeah, well- I’m not saying it’s bad,” they defended. “Just saying that not everyone would be so ready to help you.”

“Oh… yeah…” the teen hero nodded. He wasn’t quite sure if Remy really meant it like that. Their demeanour didn’t change, they didn’t stutter or stammer trying to cover up. But that didn’t mean they could be trusted just like that. They _ did _know that Logan was Hellfire, after all. They knew and they did nothing. So maybe there was a little bit more to them than what they really let on. 

“I’ll leave you some time, okay?” Remy asked as they got up, leaving Roman fairly little time to think. “You can stay here for the night, that’s probably the safest. And you might want to let your mom knew where you are. It’s been a while. She’ll be worried.”

“Yeah… thank you,” the teen nodded. He smiled at Remy as they left the room, and reached for his phone. He noticed a few texts from his mother, asking him where he was and if he was okay. Now that she knew the truth about Creativity, he didn’t have to lie to her anymore. Not completely at least. And that was a treat. 

He was not going to tell her that he was drugged by some random creep. No, he would not worry her like that. Just a little white lie would do. He told her that he had been in a fight, and crashed with Patton to recharge, as he was closer to Patton’s house than his own. That he would stay here until he felt like he had rested enough, but he stressed that he was okay. He also conveniently forgot to mention that Logan was here as well. No need to tell her that, right? 

Her response came back almost immediately - which was surprising, as it was nearly one am. Quite understandably, Megan told her son that she was worried sick at his absence, but she was glad he was still alive and kicking. They exchanged a few more texts, before Megan said that she was going to sleep, and that he should do the same. 

When they ended their conversation, Roman quickly put his phone away, head still spinning a bit. Sleeping might be a good idea, but he… didn’t want to. He didn’t know why. It was as if he was scared that something would happen the moment he closed his eyes. He would have to stay alert to make sure he was safe here. On top of that, his head hurt, he was dizzy, nauseous, shaking. Sleeping… didn’t seem like it would come quickly in this state. 

But quickly, his eyelids started getting heavy, and they kept drooping shut. Finally, he couldn’t keep them open anymore, so he put the bottle away and laid back down on the couch. He snapped his fingers to change into a shirt and sweatpants, then he grabbed the blanket that had been wrapped around him and closed his eyes, falling asleep quite quickly. 

The next time Roman opened his eyes, he felt… not as bad as before. That was pretty much all he could say about that. He didn’t feel great, he didn’t feel _ good _, just… less bad.

His head still hurt, he was slightly nauseous and lightheaded, and he still felt like it took more effort to move than it should cost. But at least he didn’t feel like any movement could make him throw up, which was a victory in itself. 

The teenager sat up slowly, and noticed that it was significantly lighter outside than it had been when he had fallen asleep. A quick glance at his phone told Roman that it was a little past eight am. Way too early, obviously, but he didn’t feel like he would be able to go back to sleep. With his headache and nausea and state in general, he doubted that he would be able to get more sleep. So instead, he scrolled through his social media for a few minutes. But only sparsely, as he wanted to save as much of his battery as possible.

It felt so weird to just sit here, on someone else’s couch - that someone being his enemy on top of that - it felt strange, and somehow _ wrong _ . He shouldn’t be here and in all honesty, for a few seconds, Roman considered just leaving and going home. But he also knew that there was no way he could go home right now. First of all, it was _ early _. Second of all, it was quite a while to get home from here, and there was no way that he could survive that at this point. It was at least a forty minute walk home, and if he took the bus, it would still be thirty minutes. On top of that, he didn’t have a key, and his mom could very well still be sleeping. She probably was. He didn’t want to wake her up this early, so he would wait. It wasn’t a total disaster being here anyway. Just a minor disaster. As long as they wouldn’t try to do anything shady.

About ten minutes later, Roman heard someone walking down the stairs into the living room. The teen hero didn’t look up, not wanting to draw out more reason to interact with people than he absolutely had to. Unfortunately, the other person didn’t seem to think the same way, as they stepped inside the living room.

“Good morning,” Logan greeted with a nod as he stepped into view. Roman shot him a small smile that wasn’t meant to be anything but polite. It was the least he could do, right? Villain or not, Logan did let him in last night. 

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m sorry about… last night. But thank you, at least. For… letting me stay. I appreciate that.”

“Of course. I couldn’t let you out there. Despite our… history.”

Roman nodded, but didn’t say anything. It was almost weird to imagine that this guy was his enemy? He had always thought Hellfire was some heartless monster, who didn’t care about anyone other than himself. Someone who got joy out of hurting and killing other people. But Logan… he wasn’t that. Yes, he might be colder and more distant than most people, but that didn’t mean anything. He had a spouse, a child. He had helped Roman when he appeared on his doorstep instead of leaving him to rot. That wasn’t what Hellfire was supposed to be. That wasn’t how he envisioned Hellfire. 

“How are you feeling?”

Roman shrugged. “Better than last night,” he muttered, “good enough to go home soon, I guess.”

Logan hummed softly. “That’s good,” he said. “Don’t forget to eat.”

Despite the mere mention of food making him nauseous, the teen nodded. 

Then, they were silent. It was… awkward. To say the least. This didn’t feel like the setting to make small talk, to pretend to get along. But what else was Roman going to do? He wasn’t in the proper state to fight him - even if he _ did _want to. He was too lightheaded, and if he tried anything, he was probably gonna lose. So that was a no-go. For now, he just had to lay low, do nothing stupid, and go home as soon as he felt good enough to do so.

Logan quickly left to the kitchen to grab himself some coffee. He even offered Roman some, but even the smell was too much for the teenager right now. There was no way he would be able to keep it down. 

He heard footsteps, a few soft voices in the corridor, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus. His head heard hurt too much for such a task. Instead, Roman just laid back down and closed his eyes, deciding to rest for just a bit before trying to drink some more water. Maybe he could even slowly eat something. And then, he had to get out of there as soon as possible. He didn’t like intruding like this, and on top of that… Logan was Hellfire. I don’t need to explain the significance of that any more. 

Roman wasn’t quite sure how long he had been out, but when he opened his eyes again, he felt better. His headache had subsided slightly and he wasn’t as nauseous as before. Maybe he could actually eat something now. 

So, he got up and made his way towards the kitchen to get himself some water, and maybe something small. He never really liked eating too much of someone else’s stuff. It felt uncomfortable somehow. After all, _ he _hadn’t paid for the food. Someone else had spent their money on it, and he was just happily munching away. Yeah- no, that didn’t feel comfortable.

When the teen stepped into the kitchen, he saw that Emile was sitting there at the breakfast bar with a magazine and a notebook in front of him. 

“Oh,” the hero softly spoke as his classmate looked up. “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine,” the other smiled kindly. “Don’t worry. How are you feeling? Dad said you were in a pretty bad state last night.”

Roman returned the smile as he stepped further into the kitchen. “Eh… better, I suppose,” he responded. “Just a little… hazy. Hey- eh… where are the glasses?”

“First cabinet on your right.” Roman followed Emile’s direction with a nod and found that, indeed, there were glasses in the first cabinet on his right. Of course there were, Emile had no reason to lie, especially about something that dumb. 

“Thanks,” he smiled as he grabbed a glass and filled it with some water, before turning to Emile. There was one question that he needed to know. One question that was burning in his mind, but he had no idea how to phrase it without potentially giving himself away. “So… did you… see my- eh…”

“Your suit?” Emile finished for him. “Yeah, I did.”

Great. So the entire household knew about his secret, then. It was sort of his own fault, he assumed, but it was probably the best outcome. Better than passing out in the middle of the street, risking to be found by the guys who had drugged him in the first place. If he could have taken care of himself, he would’ve. But he was too far gone at that point. As long as they knew when to keep their mouths shut - aka all the time - then it would be okay. 

Roman was about to open his mouth to respond, but Emile was quicker. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” He gave the other a kind smile as reassurance.

“Thanks.” Roman managed a smile as he took a sip of his water. He wasn’t sure if he was happy with this situation. Emile was a nice guy, really, but it’s not like he and Roman talked a lot. Same with Remy; Roman didn’t even _ know _ them, and now they knew about his secret. Sure, the two of them promised to keep it a secret, but the mere thought of them knowing wasn’t a comforting one. He didn’t know if he could _ actually _ trust either of them. They could easily expose them if they wanted to - and they had reason to. At least Remy did. Roman was fairly sure that they knew Logan was Hellfire, but he wasn’t sure if Emile knew. But Remy… if they wanted to make his life a bit shittier, they could easily expose him. And that was not a nice thought. At all. 

After a brief conversation and one apple, Roman felt like he had regained enough of his strength to go home again, relax a bit before going to work. 

He told Emile that he was heading out again, and told him to thank his parents for their help. There was no way that he would go up to either of them himself if he didn’t have to. He didn’t exactly trust them, after all. 

Roman managed to step out of the house without running into either of the two adults, and was out on the street fairly quick. Okay. Time to go home, then.


	28. Chapter 28

** _Creativity is NOT a menace_ **

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Okay so V was right abt the cape thing _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ told ya _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ >:( _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ But yeah think I might have to get rid of it _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ no shit _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Why, did something happrn? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yee _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Bad guys bein asdhiles _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ oh boi _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ if only anyone had told you that would happen _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ then all of this could’ve been preventend oh no _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yeah yeah you were right congrats _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ :) _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ On the bright(…?) Side… guess i know Mca’s spouse knows abt Hellfire and Creativity? _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ ? _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ How do you know? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yeah so funny story _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ is it tho _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I’m fairly sure a few people i fought tried to drug me so i felt real bad and crahed at Mca’s place cause it was the only place nearby that i knew and apparently their spouse… knows i suppose _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Wait what? _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ im sorry but thry WHAT _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ Are you okay?? What happened? _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Im fine im fine, dw _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Like I said, I crashed at Mca’s place, cause it was the only house I could get to, he actualky did let me ib, nothing happened, everything’s fine, I’m still alive _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Just gotta get rid of the cape _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ yeah u dont see how thars supposed to be a funny story tbh _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ It just… is _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Also Emile knows too  _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Where are you noe? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ At home _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Dw I’m fine, okay? Just a little stupid thing yesterday but I’m fine _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Gotta get ready for work tho :/ _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Sooo I’ll see ya later xo _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ you sure you should go? _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ after all that? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yeah yeah, Im good really _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ No worries V, Ill survive _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Too lastminute to cancel anywyass _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ … alright _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Take it easy tho, okay? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ If they let me lol _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Ill do my best _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ If you say so _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ you fuckin better _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Good luck! <3 _


	29. Chapter 29

“Okay, what the hell happened on Friday?” Virgil demanded as he met his friends for lunch that Monday. His voice had a harsh tone to it, but it was evident that he was worried rather than angry or upset. 

Roman shrugged as he sat down. “I told you,” he answered, “I- I got drugged, went to Macauley’s… It’s all a bit blurry, okay?”

It was clear from the expression on his face that Virgil was not content with this answer. There were still way too many questions unanswered for his liking, and it did not ease his worry at all. 

Patton noticed this and quickly opened his mouth before Virgil could say anything. “Well, what  _ do  _ you remember, then?”

Roman sighed. In all honesty, he did not want to talk about it. Not just because he did not want to remember what happened, but also because he couldn’t remember all of it. It was as if he blacked out after getting away from the fight, which was probably an aftereffect of the drug. But it was clear that he was not getting away with brushing it off like this. His friends were worried sick, and he couldn’t blame them. He would be worried too if the roles were reversed. So, he probably couldn’t get away with not answering. 

“Well… I was tracking these four guys, cause they looked kind of shady,” he said reluctantly, “Three of them stopped in front of this one alley, and the other went around I guess, I lost sight of them. I saw someone walking down the alley, and I’m thinking these guys wanna do something to them, you know? So I get down and tell this person to get out as I fight those shady guys. I’m doing quite well, considering it’s me against these three big dudes. But then the last guy comes up behind me and I guess he drugs me, cause I kinda feel a pinch in my neck. I still try to fight those guys, but it gets harder and harder, and I’m just getting dizzy and tired. At this point, I’m lowkey thinking I’m gonna die. But then I think I remember a bright flash of light and someone telling me to get out. Which I obviously do. And the next thing I know, I wake up on a couch with the worst headache in history.”

Virgil ran his hands through his hair nervously. “Jesus, dude,” he muttered softly. 

“It’s just Roman, but that’s okay,” the other grinned. 

Virgil scowled as he flipped his friend off. “I’m serious. You’re lucky you’re not dead. Or worse.”

At this comment, the hero raised a sceptical eyebrow. “Even worse than being dead.”

“Dude. Think about it. You’re a superhero with super _ powers _ . Do you really think there’s no one out there who want to know how you got them?”

“What are you talking about?” Roman asked with a soft scoff, nearly inaudible. “ _ Experiments _ ?”

Somehow, it was hard for him to believe it. Surely, that was not an  _ actual  _ threat, right? It was some sci-fi trope, to stay hidden and avoid people experimenting on you. But it wasn’t an actual  _ thing _ . At least, that’s what he believed. Virgil seemed to think otherwise, though.

“Honestly?” he asked. “Yeah. You are gaining more fame as Creativity. Is it really so hard to imagine that people would want to know more about your powers and how you got them? Think about it. Do you really think they couldn’t have overpowered that one person with the four of them in one place? It could have easily been a trap for you. Why else would that one guy still bother even drugging you?”

“So they  _ expected  _ me to be there?” Roman asked skeptically. 

Virgil took a moment to just stare at Roman, as if he was wondering if his friend had  _ really _ just asked that question. And honestly… he did. He really did. Roman was such a dumbass sometimes, this shouldn’t even be a surprise. And yet, it still was. “ _ Yes _ . People know you tend to show up at certain times, certain days. Maybe these guys tried to lure you out by acting so shady. And if you hadn’t shown up, they could have tried another time. I don’t know, but- I’m just saying… you gotta be careful.”

“He’s got a point, Ro,” Patton jumped in. “You don’t know what might be going through their heads.”

With a frown, Roman looked between his two friends. He himself doubted the reality of their worries. He doubted that there would be real people who actually wanted to run experiments on someone just to find out about their powers. It might sound like a contradiction, that the guy who took so much from fiction would not believe this one thing taken from fiction. But it sounded too fake for him. His friends seemed to think this was a legitimate concern, though, and he didn’t want to worry them. Besides, he would feel like an idiot if he brushed their worries off and they ended up coming true. Better to be safe than sorry, right? Trying to pay attention to his surroundings would never hurt anyone, right? “Fine,” he conceded. “If you’re so sure… I’ll keep an eye out, okay?”

Patton gave a satisfied nod. “That’s all we ask.” 

Roman gave his friend a half smile before turning to the food in front of him. It was really weird to think about the possibility that someone would actually want to… do things like that. Were there really people like that? I mean- yeah, of course there were. There were a lot of bad people around and there had been more than enough people who had experimented on other humans. But even then, he could not imagine that anyone would be twisted enough to think of something like  _ that _ . 

It was not exactly a pleasant thought. 

“Hey are you guys going to pride this weekend?” Patton asked suddenly, looking at his two friends. His eyes lingered on Roman slightly, giving him a meaningful look, to which the other responded with a simple eyeroll and scoff. 

“I might,” Virgil answered. “Thought about it, but… I don’t know… there’s gonna be  _ people  _ there.”

“Relatable,” Roman muttered, before continuing in a slightly louder voice: “It’s really fun, though! Everyone’s really cool, I think you’ll like it. I’ve been to pride quite a few times, and it’s awesome. I was actually thinking about going as Creativity this year? To make a statement or something I guess.”

“Oh, that would be nice,” Patton nodded, “I like that! Maybe Virge and I could go together and meet up with you there at some point?” He turned to his other friend hopefully. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but…”

“No actually, I wanna go. That sounds good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Virgil nodded, “and if I don’t like it… I can just go, right? I do really want to go. And if you guys are there too…”

Patton grinned at this response and nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! We can always leave if you want to, but I assure you, it’s gonna be a- _ gay _ -zing.”

“Oh my god,” Roman groaned as he rested his forehead on the table. “I hate you so much.”

“Don’t you mean…”

“Pat…” the hero threatened, turning his head slightly so he could glare at his friend. 

“ _ Gay _ -te?”

“Fuck you.”

Virgil chuckled as he looked at his two friends bantering. They were such idiots and he had no idea how he ever got himself involved with these guys, but he could not be happier with them in his life. He would never have imagined he would even have one real friend at school, let alone  _ two _ . Which might sound pathetic, but he wasn’t exactly… social. He was too anxious, first of all, but he also didn’t really connect with most people in his class. Sure, there were some nice people he sometimes talked to, but he didn’t feel like he fit in with them. They weren’t the kind of people he would choose to hang out with outside of school. Well… most of them, at least. Patton and Roman were an exception to this rule. They were pretty cool. 


	30. Chapter 30

After that day, there were only two more days of school. Filled with tests and the rounding off of projects, for the most part. And detention, if your name was Roman. And after that… freedom. Finally. Roman was especially glad with the ending of the school year, which meant more time for him to train and work on a way to take down Hellfire. The downside to this, however, was that Macauley would also be free, thus he’d have more time to kill people as well. So that sucked. It meant that Roman had to stay on guard.

But first, something more important…  _ Pride _ . He’d been there about… fourteen times. His mother took him to his first pride when he was young, and he loved it, even without knowing what it was for. Three year old him just loved all the colours and rainbows and all the nice and happy people! It was so much fun and everyone was super kind. And when he grew older, he really understood the significance of the event, which made him even more passionate about it. His mom identified as queer, and she had always been open with her children about sexuality and gender identity. So for Roman, there never really was any question that he wasn’t straight. From a young age, he found out that he liked boys way more than girls. And his mom quickly accepted that and supported him. From there on, Roman and his mother - and Sophie later on - went to pride every year. Only recently, Roman started going with his friends - and the very occasional date. That didn’t mean he didn’t make sure to spend at least a little time with his mother every year. It was just a nice little tradition that he wanted to keep alive. 

And this year, it was even more different from the past few times. Cause this year, Roman wasn’t  _ technically  _ going to pride. Not as himself, at least. 

For the occasion, Roman had discarded his golden cape - that he would have gotten rid of either way, as previously decided - and replaced it with a rainbow one. Furthermore, some of the red details on his suit were rainbow-tinted as well. All ready to go for pride. 

“Mom, I’m heading out,” he called as he walked down the stairs into the living room. “You will let me know when you get there, right?” 

“Promise,” Megan grinned at her son. “Don’t worry, I can remember that.”

He nodded and returned her smile. “I don’t doubt it,” he told her. “I can’t promise I will see it immediately, though, but I will try to remember to check my phone occasionally.”

With a soft laugh, Megan walked up to her son and hugged him. “Do whatever you want, kid,” she said softly. “It’s no disaster if we don’t cross paths.”

“I want to, though,” the teenager pouted. “I just like it, you know. Nostalgia and stuff.”

“Alright, alright, whatever you want,” she conceded with a shake of her head, smiling fondly as she stepped back. “Now go, and have some fun.”

“Yes ma’am,” Roman nodded. “You two have fun as well! I’ll see you later!” He waved at his mom and walked out of the door, taking the stairs to the roof instead of downstairs. Once on the roof, he changed into his modified suit with a snap of his fingers and took a leap, jumping onto the next roof with a bit of telekinetic help and got on his way to the centre of town, where pride would be held. 

As always, he heard the event before he actually saw it. The mere sound of it made him grin underneath his mask. Pride  _ had  _ to be one of his favourite days of the year, and just being here excited him so much. 

The teen hero jumped down from a building and walked just a few more metres towards the actual event. It was quite early in the afternoon, and pride had barely begun, yet it was buzzing with people everywhere. Stands, people handing out flyers or selling pride merchandise. People walking around, donning their most colourful and proudest clothes. It was great. 

A few people turned their heads when they saw Creativity walking around. The hero was gaining more fame, not just in the city and its surroundings, but nationally, and even internationally, and more and more people recognized him. Even in his pride suit. 

Roman barely had a chance to look around and look for his friends, when a couple of teenagers walked up to him. They seemed to be around his age, the hero guessed. One of them wore a rainbow shirt with a ‘they/them’ button on their chest. The other had an asexual pride flag draped around their shoulders like a cape. 

“Excuse me,” the first of the two spoke up nervously. “But you’re… Creativity, right? The hero?”

“The one and only,” Roman responded with a nod. 

“I’ve got to say, I love you so much,” they grinned. “Would you mind if I, eh- took a picture? With you?”

The hero nodded, shooting them a large grin. “Of course, I can’t say no to that.”

With an excited smile, the smaller teenager got out their phone and handed it to their friend. After a few quick pictures, and a quick review to make sure they were sharp and looking okay, the teen fan got their phone back from their friend. 

“Thank you so much,” they gushed, “I never expected to see you here, so that’s…” They made a vague gesture with their hand, trying to think of a word to describe what they felt. 

The hero chuckled softly. “I come here every year, thought it would be nice to come here in disguise for once,” he explained. “Can’t skip the best event of the year.”

“True.”

“Well, enjoy yourself today, alright?” he smiled. 

The other teen nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, yeah, of course!” they answered. “Thanks… you too!”

“Thank you.”

“Oh! Is it okay if I post these pictures online?”

Roman nodded. “Of course,” he reassured them. “Tag me if you post them on twitter, though, alright?”

“Gotcha,” they promised, making fingerguns at him. “Thank you so much!”

“Of course,” Roman said, taking a careful step back, “now… I better get going, there’s plenty of things to do around here, right?” 

The two teens in front of them agreed, and they quickly split ways again. A few more people came up to Roman before he could finally contact his two friends to see where they were. He sat down on a small bench at the square nearby, in the shadow of a large tree. A part of him wished he could take off the suit immediately. It was warm outside, and this suit definitely wasn’t ideal to wear in summer, but he had committed to this and he was not backing out of this. He could survive walking around in this suit for a few hours. He had done worse. 

The hero looked around, but not many people seemed to be paying attention to him right now, so he felt like it would be safe to take out his phone and contact his friends. 

** _Gay gay gay gay_ **

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Hey where are you gius? _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Im near that one stand that sells rainboe flags _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yknow, the only one that does  _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ thanks for the help dude _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ appreciated _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Always uwu _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Okay but seriousky i AM near a stand selling rainbow flagd _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Im on the square, on a bench _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I like to think Im quite eady to spot _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ My outfit kinda stand out _

** _[Virgil]: _ ** _ neat, well try to get to you _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Awesome, Ill be waiting _

After just a few minutes of waiting, Roman noticed his friends appearing in the distance and grinned, walking up to them. “Hey strangers,” he called as he came up behind them. “How are you guys doing?”

“Ro- Creativity!” Patton grinned loudly, just in time to cover up his mistake. “You look great! How are you?”

“Great as always,” the hero answered. “How about you guys? You enjoying yourselves?”

Roman looked mostly at Virgil, knowing that he didn’t love crowds and noise. He had left his hoodie behind for once, instead wearing a shirt in the colour of the bi pride flag, and an asexual flag wrapped around his shoulders - a small price tag still attached to one of the corners. Roman also noticed a black ring on the middle finger of his right hand. Patton wore a shirt with the pansexual pride flag on it and he had a rainbow drawn on his cheek. 

“Actually… yeah,” Virgil nodded softly. “It’s… overwhelming, but… nice, I suppose. So far.”

“Are you sure?” Patton asked. “You don’t have to stay if you want to, tha-”

But before he could continue, Virgil cut him off with a quick shake of his head. “No, it’s good. Don’t worry.”

Patton still gave his friend a worried look, but shook his head and recovered himself quickly. “Sure,” he smiled. “You know what? We should take some pictures together! Make some memories, you know?”

“Sounds awesome,” Roman agreed. “I can never say no to taking pictures with my fans.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and slightly nudged the hero with his elbow. “Fuck off,” he muttered with the tiniest smirk playing on his lips. Roman could only look into his eyes for one millisecond before looking away. He was glad that the mask he wore could hide most of the blush that started to burn on his cheeks. He didn’t even have a comeback like he usually did. 

The teenager quickly got out his phone to take some pictures and avoid any more confrontation - mostly from Patton. He could already hear his sly comments, and while he did really appreciate his friend’s efforts to make something happen, he still didn’t… want to hear them right now. 

So, they posed for a few pictures, talked a bit, Roman took a few pictures with other people who came up to him, and he joined his friends for a stroll past some of the stalls. He was just thinking about ducking out and changing into his regular clothing, when he spotted someone he would rather not want to see right now. 

“Oh, fuck,” he hissed, stepping behind the stall they were looking at. 

“Ro- eeh- I mean… what’s wrong?” Patton asked as he followed his friends barely managing to keep Roman’s cover. 

“I’m pretty sure I saw  _ you-know-who  _ and his spouse,” he answered, peeking around the stall, where he definitely still saw Logan. Kissing Remy. Not something he would really want to see right now. “Yep, definitely them.”

“So what, you’re just gonna hide here?” Virgil asked. He picked up a small bracelet in the colours of the asexual pride flag, meanwhile sparing a glance in the direction where Roman seemed to have seen their chemistry teacher. “Not exactly heroic.”

“Well, what else am I going to do?” Roman retorted. “I can’t exactly attack them right here. He’s not even doing anything wrong, so that’s dumb. And I’m not gonna say hi to him either.”

“But you don’t have to hide out here, do you?” Virgil continued as he put down the bracelet. He still didn’t look away from the merchandise as he did so. “You can just ignore them, you dumbass.”

“Yeah but…”

As Roman trailed off, Virgil finally turned away from the merchandise to look down at his friend, crouching behind the stall. “But what?” he asked with a sweet but still slightly smug smirk that made Roman’s heart race. 

“But- eh-” The hero tried to think of a remark. Something witty, or something that would actually make sense in this context. But his mind was racing. His eyes were captured by Virgil’s, and he could not focus on anything else but those gorgeous brown eyes, no matter how much he tried. 

“Exactly what I thought,” Virgil concluded. “Nerd. They’re gone, by the way, so you can come out of hiding, if you want.”

“Thank goodness,” the hero muttered as he got up. “I did  _ not  _ want to have to see them. I, eh- I’m sorry about… all of this, by the way.” He turned to the owner of the stall with an apologetic smile, but they told him that it was all okay. They actually seemed quite amused by this whole ordeal, and honestly, who wouldn’t be? Who wouldn’t be at least a little bit amused by seeing a life-saving hero hiding behind your stall to avoid someone they didn’t want to see? 

“Okay, so… the parade?” Patton suggested as he clapped his hands together, giving his friends a hopeful look. 

Virgil immediately agreed, but Roman told them to wait as he checked his messages to see if his mom had let him know anything about her whereabouts yet. And indeed, Megan had texted him about ten minutes ago, telling him where she and Sophie were. 

“Yeah, sounds great,” he nodded as he typed out a quick response. “I have to meet up with- some… people, though. You don’t have to come, tho-”

“I don’t have a problem with coming along,” Patton quickly interfered, turning to Virgil with a slightly tilted head. “Virge?”

“Yeah, yeah, sounds good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Roman hesitated slightly; he’d feel bad if Virgil forced himself into going just for their sake, but if he really wanted to go, then… there was no real problem here. He would keep an eye on Virgil, just to be sure. 

“Awesome, let’s go!”

Roman led his friends to the place where he would meet his mother and sister. Just a quick talk before he would change back into his regular clothes - it had been long enough by now. It gradually became more and more crowded, people gathering to catch a glimpse of the parade that would start any moment now. Both Roman and Patton looked back at Virgil every other second, to make sure he was fine with the crowd. And despite obviously getting tenser, he  _ insisted  _ that he was okay. He just wanted to see this. He didn’t want his anxiety to stop him from seeing something awesome. This was his first pride, and he really wanted to witness as much of it as he could. But even then. Roman was scared he would force himself, just for the sake of seeing the parade, of staying together, of- whatever else. 

“Hey, you can stay behind a bit,” he suggested as they came to a stop somewhere along the route. “It’s fine. You will still be able to see most of it if you stay here. I just want to catch up with my mom real quick. There’s no obligation to come with me everywhere.”

Virgil bit his lip as he looked up at his friend for a second, before turning to look at all the people around him. There were… a lot of them here. And Roman had said that his mom was somewhere in the front rows, which would give a great view, but… people.

“Yeah, I can stay with you if you want me to!” Patton added with a quick nod. “We can enjoy it together!”

“I-” the anxious teen hesitated for a second, but finally nodded, with clear reluctance. “Fine,” he finally concluded. “I think I’ll… stay. I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry!” Roman assured his friend. “I get it, you gotta take care of yourself. You can still see it from here! I’ll be back with you before you know it, I can promise that.”

Virgil shot him a small smile and Roman returned this before he turned around and tried to look for his mother and sister. 

After a tiny bit of looking through the hordes of people, the teen finally caught a glimpse of his family standing at the front, with a lovely sight of what was going to come by. Sure, pushing his way past the other people didn’t make anyone happy, but what else was he supposed to do?  _ Fly  _ over there? Wait- actually... 

“Hey,” he breathed as he finally stopped next to them. “You got some nice places here.”

Megan lit up as she turned to her son, admiring him in his outfit. “Sure do,” she nodded. “You’re looking quite good, Creativity.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

Megan was wearing the same shirt she had worn for the past few years - a white shirt with the word pride in rainbow colours - and a simple black skirt. Sophie was looking up at him with wide eyes, she didn’t wear anything special, but she was holding her favourite stuffed cat, complete with a new rainbow cape. 

“Wait,” she uttered slowly, recognizing the voice from beyond the mask “Roro? You’re… ”

“I am,” Roman whispered as he crouched to his sister’s level, putting a finger to his lips. “But ssh, it’s our secret, okay? Nobody else can know it’s me. This is just something between us, yeah?”

Sophie nodded and pretended to zip her lips. She was practically bouncing with excitement at finding out that her big brother also happened to be her favourite superhero - and also the only real superhero as of now. But at the same time, she also realised that it was important to keep this secret. She had read books and comics; she had seen tv shows. She understood the importance of this secret. Besides, it would be pretty cool to be one of the few people who actually knew the hero’s real identity. 

“Awesome,” Creativity smiled, ruffling his sister’s hair. “I knew I could trust you.”

Sophie whined softly as she tried to organise her hair again, giving her brother a playful glare. The fact that he was a superhero did not mean that he could get away with everything he wanted. 

After a bit of smalltalk, and some pictures from bystanders - Roman even noticed some people on the other side of the road pointing, waving and taking pictures of him. There were definitely some people who gave him some curious looks as they talked, but he ignored those looks; it wasn’t as if they could figure out who he was based on who he talked to. He just posed whenever he noticed people trying to take his picture, but otherwise, he tried to focus on talking with his mom and sister, and on the parade when it finally started. 

Somewhere along the way, Roman picked up his sister and put her on his shoulders so she could see everything better. She was honestly do excited to be here, and it reminded Roman of himself when he was her age. It was utterly adorable. 

After the parade, Roman spent a few more minutes talking to people as Creativity, before he disappeared and changed into his normal attire, so he could spend just a bit longer with his friends. Just as himself. No random people coming up to him, no stress about not saying anything wrong, just Roman, Virgil and Patton having fun. 

To be fair, it was a lot of them talking and having fun, celebrating summer holiday, but Roman wouldn’t have it any other way. His friends really were the best people in the world, and he was pretty sure that he was the luckiest person alive to even know them.

Unfortunately, there was a time that they had to go their own ways again. So, the three teens walked together for as long as they could, still talking, promising that they would have to hang out as soon as they could.

Patton had already left, getting into his mother’s car to go back home, and Virgil was about to get to his bus stop, but Roman impulsively stopped him. 

The very moment he called out his friend’s name, he cursed himself because he knew the exact reason that he had wanted to stop Virgil - it was the same thought that had been running through his head over the course of the day - but he didn’t know  _ why  _ he did this. 

“What’s up?” Virgil asked carefully, studying Roman’s face, trying to look for a hint or a clue that could give away any information. But all he saw on his friend’s face, was a million things at once that gave away exactly nothing. 

“Oh, it’s eh- I was just thinking…” Roman hated how his heart started to speed up at the mere thought of finishing this question. How it suddenly seemed so hot and awkward around here. He never really felt this nervous, not even when facing potential death, so why now? “I was just wondering if you… I don’t know, maybe you’d want to go out with me? Just… us?”

Virgil didn’t immediately respond. He took a second to look into Roman’s eyes deeply. It seemed as if he was trying to look for something. “Like a- like a date?”

“Yeah, if you… want it to be,” the other nodded, his hands finding the hem of the pride shirt he was wearing. 

“For real?” There was a weak sense of hopefulness to Virgil’s voice, yet it was overshadowed by doubt and hesitation. The same emotions were reflected on his face; a weak smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, a tiny twinkle in his eyes, but nothing to striking. It was all held back, as if he was afraid to even hope that it was real. He didn’t want to set himself up for heartbreak. 

“Of course,” Roman said, slightly closing the gap between them with one small step closer. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know… no one asked me out before and- and meant it,” he muttered, not looking at Roman as he did so. 

“Well, then those other people are jerks,” the other told his friend gently. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, of course I’m serious. And anyone who doesn’t see that, is an insensitive douchebag.”

With a soft laugh, Virgil looked up. He could just see Roman from behind his bangs. Roman saw the smile on his face and he could have sworn his heart stopped. It might have been the prettiest look to ever exist - a thought he had thought countless of times, but this time he might actually mean it. Yet there was still something hidden behind that smile. Something hurt, but still… hopeful, in a way. 

“That’s just what you say.”

“Oh, not just me,” Roman disagreed, shaking his head. “I know plenty of people who would agree with me.”

Virgil shrugged. He opened his mouth to make a sharp comment in response, but closed his mouth again and shook his head. He then looked down at his feet again and looked up with a deep breath. “Actually…” he gave Roman that utterly adorable smile from before once moe, and Roman’s heart made a leap. “I would love for it to be a date.”

The teenager couldn’t help but grin excitedly at this comment, resisting the urge to hug Virgil, and potentially make him uncomfortable. “Really?”

“On one condition,” Virgil added, slightly poking Roman. “No rushing out because of superhero-emergencies. I want it to just be us. No Creativity.”

“I can do that,” Roman promised. “Nothing could possibly pull me away from you.”

Virgil chuckled and shook his head. “You’re such an idiot,” he muttered under his breath, looking at the other fondly. 

“That’s why you love me.”

“Bold of you to assume I do.”

Roman gasped in offense, but quickly burst into laughter. “Okay, actually, that’s fair,” he finally answered. “I get that.”

Virgil shook his head, biting his lower lip with a small smile holding on his lips, and he looked so adorable, looking up at Roman through the hair covering his eyes. 

“I, eh… should go,” he finally announced softly, as if he was afraid to say something wrong. “Catch my bus. So… we can talk about this...” He made a vague gesture between the two of them. “... later?”

Roman nodded, almost to entranced to even think to respond. “Yeah,” he said, breathless, “yeah, sounds great. Have a safe trip home, V.”

“Thanks,” Virgil said, giving Roman a vague smile. “You too. See you later.”

“See you,” Roman confirmed with a wave as Virgil walked in the direction of his bus stop. And as soon as he was alone, Roman turned around to find his mom and sister, so he could go home himself. 


	31. Chapter 31

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Okay you can stop whinginb now  _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ I did it, soooo _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ ??? Did what? _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Did you ask Virgil out? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ I asked V on a date _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yeah that _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Aaaah really??? When?? _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ What did he say? _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ After you left after pride _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ He said yes ^.^ _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ !!!!!! _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Aah Ro, that’s awesome! I’m so happy for y’all _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Told you there was nothing to worry about :DDD _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yeah yeah you were right congrats dude _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ Please tell me I can be the best man at the wedding ^.^ _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Pat……. its one date _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ But duh  _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Cant believe you even questioned it, of course youre gonna be my best man _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ !!!! _


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Fighting, violence, injuries, blood/mild gore, major character death, panicking, sadness, guilt

Over the course of the weeks, Roman trained more and more, wanting to do whatever he could to be better. Good enough to fight, good enough to actually beat Logan in their next fight. 

And Logan? He didn’t show up at all during those weeks. Nothing. No news about Hellfire. Roman was almost starting to believe that the man had given up on his villain persona. But it felt… weird. Something felt off, but Roman didn’t know what. He just knew that something was about to happen. And he had to be ready. 

One day, near the end of July, Roman and Virgil were at Roman’s place, watching Sophie as Megan was out with some friends of hers. Sophie was currently busy telling Virgil all about the show they were watching, paying more attention to Virgil than to the episode playing on screen at the very moment. Not that she had to, as she had probably seen every episode of the show at least five times. And yet she still never got bored of it. 

Sophie seemed to really take a liking to Virgil, and it showed. The more she talked to someone, the more she liked them. And judging by the amount of time she had been talking to Virgil, she _ really _liked him. Virgil didn’t seem to mind, though. He listened intently to every word she spoke, and even asked questions here and there. It was strangely domestic, something that Roman found he really enjoyed. He had needed a small break like this. Some time to be with the people he cared about, just sitting, talking. Quality time, without Creativity. It was nice. 

After a while, Sophie seemed to have told Virgil everything that she deemed important enough, and she settled for paying attention to the show, cuddled up between her brother and his… whatever Virgil was at that point. 

“Hey, eh- you wanna… do you still want to… go out sometime soon?” Virgil suggested hesitantly. He gave Roman a careful look, as if he was afraid that the other would have changed his mind since the time he asked, almost a month ago. “Things have been pretty calm lately, so..”

“I would love that,” Roman responded. “Do you have anything in mind?”

Virgil shook his head. "Not really, but.. the weather is nice. Maybe we can go outside somewhere?"

“Ooh like a picnic or something?” the other suggested. “Nothing too highkey, just… us… food… nice weather…”

“You know what? That actually sounds nice,” Virgil concluded with a nod of his head. He gave Roman one of those incredibly soft smiles he had grown to see more often these past few weeks. “I’d like that. I know there’s a small park in a nearby town, maybe we can go there? I’ve never been there, but my moms say it’s really pretty and peaceful there.”

“Sounds lovely,” Roman nodded. Some peace and quiet might be exactly what he needed. Just a bit of time to unwind and get rid of all the stress of the past weeks, _ months _, even. “When, though? I’m pretty busy until next weekend, so… the week after?”

“Eh, yeah… let me check with my moms, though. I think they planned some family outing somewhere next week, so I’ll have to see when that is, but… sure. Sounds awesome.”

“Hell yeah.” Roman couldn’t help but grin. He was so excited to finally go out on a date with Virgil, a guy he had liked for what seemed like literal ages. Virgil was just… the best guy to ever exist, and while Roman had hung out with him as friends before, this was _ different _. This was an actual date. As in… the romantic kind of hanging out. Which meant there were so much higher stakes. Which was terrifying, but… Roman couldn’t wait. 

The two of them talked for a while more, half making plans, half talking about literally anything else, half playful teasing. They ordered a few pizzas for dinner, as neither of them trusted themselves to cook anything, and decided upon watching a Disney movie while eating - something all three of them could agree on was amazing.

Megan came home about eight pm, not too long after Roman put his sister to bed with another story - that Virgil totally didn’t eavesdrop on. 

“Evening, fellas,” she greeted as she entered the living room. Roman had carefully leaned his head on Virgil’s shoulder, and the other did not seem to protest this gesture. He only shifted his position, so Roman could sit in a more comfortable position. 

The two teens greeted her in unison, and Megan chuckled to herself at seeing their close position to each other. She always suspected there was something going on with the two of them. 

“How was your day?” Roman asked, turning his head so he could look at his mother. “Where did you go again?”

“Hudson,” Megan said as she sat down on a chair. “It was lovely. We went out, shopped for a bit. You know. Regular stuff. How about you guys? Did you manage to contain Sophie a bit?”

“It was surprisingly easy,” her son responded. “She seems to really like Virgil, though.”

“Oh, does she now?”

Roman hummed as confirmation. “She wouldn’t stop talking to him.”

Megan shook her head with a soft laugh. “Yeah, she… tends to do that,” she confirmed. “I’m sorry about that, Virgil.”

“Oh, it’s… it’s fine,” Virgil answered. “It’s actually really sweet. I have a younger brother myself, so…”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. He’s usually way more quiet, but eh- I’m used to it.” He gave a slightly award laugh as he rubbed his neck. He hated it when the focus was on him, and it really felt like the focus was on him right now. Couldn’t they just… talk about something else? He didn’t know how to talk to people. What was he supposed to do?

“He’s actually super good with kids as well,” Roman commented as he sat up straighter. Insert obligatory gay pun here. “I’m surprised.”

“Yeah, I mean… like I said, I- I’ve got a little brother,” Virgil justified softly. “So… yeah.”

“Well, I’m just glad you were able to help Roman out,” Megan smiled. “He’s a mess, usually.”

Roman scoffed softly. “That’s not- okay, yeah, I am.”

Virgil grinned and nudged his friend teasingly. “I knew that much,” he muttered, “that’s why I’m here.”

“I thought you were here because you like spending time with me.”

“Nah, not really.”

Roman returned the nudge with an offended gasp. “You take that back,” he said, a slight chuckle in his voice. “Jerk.”

“Not like this.” Virgil shook his head, flipping Roman off. 

The two went back and forth like this for a while, a few fake arguments and jabs at the other, as Megan watched the two with a shake of her head. The kids were really sweet together, she noted, and it was clear that they really cared about each other. Even a little bit more than just ‘caring’. It was quite adorable, yet neither of the two seemed to really notice, oblivious to the obvious looks they gave each other.

“I think I should be heading out,” Virgil announced after a while. “Eh- thanks for everything, I guess. Today was nice.”

Roman smiled as his friend got up, and quickly followed suit. “I can walk you to the bus stop?” 

“It’s literally just a few metres,” the other stated with a raised eyebrow. But he didn’t turn it down yet, so…

“So what? Does that mean I can’t be nice?”

“I-” Virgil tried to come up with a good response, but he found that he couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure he _ wanted _to. Spending just a few extra minutes with Roman wasn’t so bad, right? “Whatever.” 

He shook his head with the hints of a smile on his face, and Roman responded with a grin. 

“It was nice seeing you again, Virgil,” Megan said as the teen started getting his stuff ready to leave. “Thanks for watching my kids today.”

Virgil snorted at this comment and shot Roman one quick glance before he faced Megan. “No problem,” he answered, trying to hold back a grin, “The two of them can be quite a handful, but I like to think I did well.”

“Thought you were heading out?” the younger teen quipped, sending the other a soft glare.

“If you want me gone that badly,” Virgil muttered under his breath, grinning at Roman.

“You’re unbelievable.” 

A few moments later, Roman and Virgil were out on the street, walking towards the bus stop in silence. Roman risked a quick glance at the other next to him, but he looked away as soon as Virgil returned the look, as if he was afraid to be caught staring. Even though they had been friends for a few months now and there were definitely worse things in the world than looking at each other. 

“You know,” Virgil started as the bus stop came into view. “I really did like this. Just… us hanging out, I guess. It’s nice.”

Roman nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it is,” he echoed, “we should do that more often. We can go see that park you mentioned.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” the other commented, giving a shy smile. 

They stopped in front of the bus stop. There was no one there, so they had all the time and place to be gay together. At least… they had time until Virgil’s bus would arrive. Which was in five minutes. So they actually just had five minutes to be gay. 

The duo chatted a small bi but most of the time waiting was spent in silence. As it turned out, it was difficult to really talk if you only had limited time and literally no idea what you had to talk about. But it was okay. At least they were there together, and that was nice enough in itself. Call Roman a huge sap - which he was, quite honestly - but he appreciated every second he could spend with Virgil. He was just great company, okay?

That, and he was a massive gay.

“I think that’s my bus,” Virgil said as he saw a vehicle appearing in the distance, “so I should be… going.”

“Of course,” Roman nodded, taking a small step forwards. “Can I hug you?”

“Oh- yeah. Yeah, of course.” It could have been an illusion, but Roman could have sworn he saw a tiny smile on his face. 

Roman hugged his friend close, careful not to make him uncomfortable. “Today was great,” he repeated as he pulled away. “we gotta do it again soon.”

“We do,” Virgil agreed softly, giving Roman one of those adorable shy smiles of his. For a second, you could just see the thoughts running through his head before he made a decision. He leaned in ever so slightly and kissed Roman’s cheek, hardly noticeable, but it was _ there _. “I gotta go… I’ll see you later.”

He walked towards the bus and got in, looking back at the teen on the street just before he bought his ticket, a careful smile still on his lips. Roman waved at him, his brain still trying to process the fact that Virgil actually just kissed his cheek. Holy shit. 

He watched as the other took a seat in the bus, and he waited until the bus disappeared from his view. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that _ holy shit Virgil Adreana just kissed his cheek _. Did that actually happen? Cause it felt like it didn’t. It felt like a dream. So much so that by some weird logic, it had to be real. Dreams always felt real, right? So if it felt fake… then it should be real? 

Weird leaps of logic aside, this entire day had been a big dream. Being so close to Virgil, just hanging out together without real obligations? That must have been one of the best things he could ever wish for. It was unbelievable how he could get so lucky. 

A few days had passed. Roman spent most of those days working, training, and patrolling the city if he had the time. He managed to get rid of two men trying to rob a place, but other than that… things were uneventful. Which usually wasn’t an issue, but something that unsettled him, was the absence of Hellfire. Macauley would have to be _ somewhere _, right? Roman hadn’t seen the villain in weeks and it was starting to get daunting. He had to be planning something. 

And indeed. Something _ did _happen. Friday evening: Roman was patrolling the city as usual, when he heard a loud crash a few blocks down, followed by loud voices and yells. Naturally, the hero decided to check it out. He followed the sound to its source, and it led him to a crossroads. Right in front of him, the teen saw a grey minivan. It had swerved to the side, where it crashed into a lamppost. There were a few scorch marks on the side of the car, showing exactly where it had been hit by a few blasts of fire. 

On all sides of the road, there were people. Some cars had stopped in the middle of the road, trying to avoid the two people in the middle of the crossways, or trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. Some bystanders were trying to see what was happening, but most rushed to get out of there as soon as they realised.

There, in the middle, Roman could clearly see the features of the guy he called his enemy, in front of someone who seemed to be struggling against his hold, his hands behind his back. Every movement seemed to cost him more energy than it would any normal person. But then again… he was hurt. Seriously hurt.

Creativity jumped down from the building, using his telekinesis to slow down his fall. He had to make sure this guy got out alive, and he had to make sure to disable Logan’s tech to the best of his ability. It was now or never. He had to see if his plan would work out. 

“Let the guy go, Kira,” Roman called as he got to his feet again. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

Logan looked up at the teen’s voice, but didn’t seem to be willing to let him go. He kept his eyes trained on the hero, but Roman noticed that he slowly raised his hand, pointing at the man behind him. Now that he was up close, Roman saw that the villain had made use of his infamous handcuffs. The ones that would shock you if you resisted too much, probably. 

He knew he had to act fast, and Roman quickly used his telekinesis on Logan’s hand, pulling it back down to ensure that he could not hurt the man behind him. 

“Don’t tell me you’d let him go,” Logan said to the hero, clearly doing his best to resist Roman’s power. The teen felt this, and he had to put more effort into keeping his grip, but he still managed to keep it under control. “Do you know who he is?”

“I don’t,” Roman responded, his voice strained as he tried to keep Logan’s hand down. “But I know he doesn’t deserve death. We’ve got police and jails for a reason.”

“Not for this guy,” the villain retorted sharply, the harsh undertone shining through, even with the distortion behind his voice. 

Roman strained every muscle in his body, trying to maintain his grip. But it got harder and harder and he felt his telekinetic grip slipping more and more with every passing second. But he couldn’t let Logan kill this guy, he couldn’t-

The next second, he was thrown back by a sudden pulse of electricity hitting his body. The next second, he saw a bright flash of light. Blue. He could almost feel the heat of the fire. And then he heard the man screaming, and dear _ God, _the sound was pure torture to him. He had to do something about this, and he had to do it quickly if he wanted the man to survive this. 

Every muscle in his body protested, but Roman didn’t care. He just pushed himself up and gritted his teeth. He had to do this. 

With as much power as he could, he conjured up a shield in his one hand and a fire blanket in the other. Now, if he did this right… he might be able to do it. 

The hero ran towards the still screaming man and wrapped the fire blanket around his body. “Someone help him,” he called out to the few curious people who were dumb enough to stay. “Call 911, make sure he’s okay.”

A few nodded and reached for their phone, but Creativity paid no heed to their responses. He only had one goal now; he had to take care of Hellfire. Once and for all. He had been doing this for way too long now. This had to stop. 

With one of his hands free, Roman created a sword, turning to face the villain. “You can’t keep killing innocent people.”

“They aren’t innocent.”

“Whatever,” the hero sighed. “It’s still murder.”

He ran towards the villain, holding Logan’s hand in place with his telekinesis. It took the villain a single moment to realise what was going on, but by that time, Roman had already managed to slam the hilt of his sword into the pinned bracelet on Logan’s wrist, bending them. Hopefully that would be good enough to prevent him from using it in the future. 

Momentarily distracted by this new objective, Roman’s telekinetic focus faltered and this gave the villain space to move his hands, pull them free from the hero’s grip. He managed to punch the teen in his gut, followed by a kick in nearly the same spot. Creativity stumbled back, but had no time to recover as the villain approached and punched him back, forcefully enough to send the hero back a few steps. He stumbled over his own feet and fell down, dropping his sword and shield as he did so. Sirens blared in the distance, and he heard the hushed voices of the people taking care of Hellfire’s latest victim, somewhere on the other side of the road, talking among themselves as the ambulance drew nearer. 

He felt like shit. His muscles hurt, his head was spinning, but at least he had taken out the bracelet. One of his biggest threats, other than the fire that Logan seemed to use on him so rarely. That meant he had a bigger shot at winning. At least… he hoped it did. 

Roman looked up to see Logan approaching and he rolled aside just in time to avoid the punch he was aiming at him. He grabbed the shield and used it to hit the villian’s feet away from him, causing him to fall to the ground. Roman used this second of time to fly his sword into his hand and he approached the villain, conjuring up a set of handcuffs. He knew this wouldn’t work; even if he could cuff Logan, it wouldn’t change the fact that he had the ability to manipulate fire. But it was something and it might help his case a little bit. It was better than nothing, at least. 

However, the second Roman approached, Logan grabbed his wrist tightly and refused to let go, no matter what the teenage hero tried. His fingers glowed, and Roman felt the heat burning his skin, just like several months earlier. And fuck, it hurt, but the hero wouldn’t give up that easily. He kicked his foot against Logan’s side, his arm, anything. Just trying to make him let go of his arm. But it seemed to achieve quite the opposite. The villain only tightened his grip and shifted his position, enabling him to toss the teen to the side. 

Some people gasped, and he heard a car pulling up. More voices. He couldn’t let this go. He had to do something. 

Roman groaned and pushed himself up. His sword and shield had fallen down, and the teen decided it would be easier to just let them be for now. It wasn’t as if he could use them right now anyways. He had to get Logan into a good position. He had to figure out a game plan, find out how to defeat this man.

He got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body stubbornly. “Is that all you’ve got?” he taunted as he eyed the armoured man in front of him. “That’s nothing.” 

Logan scoffed, raising a hand. “Do you really want to do this again? We both know how it will end.”

“Yeah we do,” Roman responded as he summoned his shield, so he would be ready to defend himself from any incoming attack. “It ends with me kicking your ass.” 

He saw that Logan lifted his hand, pulling it back, as a faint hue of blue started to glow around his fingers, and the hero quickly hid behind his shield, just in time to avoid the fire thrown at him. He still felt the warmth, but at the very least, he was safe. Sort of. 

As the fire disappeared, Roman threw the shield aside and summoned his sword as he ran towards his nemesis, managing to roundhouse kick him in the stomach. As the villain stumbled back, Roman raised his sword above his head, bringing it down just as Logan raised his hand, stopping the weapon with his armoured sleeve. Just as the teen had planned. 

He followed up with another kick to the stomach and attempted a tackle to the ground, but Logan was ahead of him and stepped aside. Roman fell forwards a bit, losing his momentum as he missed his target. He tried to regain his balance, but he couldn’t control where the sword in his hand was going, and even though it was dull, a lot of damage can be done with the tip of a sword making contact with skin. Especially when there was quite a lot of force behind it. And _ especially _when it just so happened to pierce a major artery.

Roman landed on his side, and when he heard the sound of someone else falling over, he quickly looked up and saw Logan on his knees. Even though his hands covered the cut on his leg, the hero saw the blood seeping onto the ground. Fuck. This was bad. This was _ very _bad. 

“Shit,” Roman hissed at he got to his feet. “I didn’t- shit I’m sorry.” 

He looked around, seeing people still looking at the scene in shock, but no one seemed to be intent on helping out here. Clearly. It was way too dangerous for them to even be here. The paramedics had left, trying to take care of the victim of Logan’s crimes. So it was just him then. Great. He barely even knew how to take care of a simple cut, how was he supposed to do this? This was so much blood. What if Logan would… 

“Can someone call 911?” he called out to the people around him as he summoned some bandages. Would that save his life? Possibly not. But it was the only thing that Roman knew how to do. He couldn’t exactly stitch it up or take care of it in any way. “It’s pretty urgent here.”

He heard some soft murmurs, but he didn’t pay attention to it. He had to focus on this task, trying to at least do _ something _. Murderer or not, he couldn’t let Logan die like this. He couldn’t let that happen. He didn’t deserve to die like that. No one should determine if another living being deserved to live or die. No matter how many crimes they might have committed or how bad they were. No one deserved a fate like that. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Roman’s hands trembled as he tried to at least sort of put pressure on the wound, but there was so much blood and it stained the white of his suit and it just made him panic and-

“Roman,” a soft voice spoke up, slightly distorted, but he could still hear that Logan’s voice cracked ever so slightly. “It’s fine.”

The teen shook his head, still fumbling with the bandage in his hands. “It’s not,” he choked out. “It’s not, look at this, it’s… it’s not.”

He tried to wrap the bandage around the wound, but it was soaked and scarlet red within seconds. God, there was so much blood, how was he even still alive?

Two hands placed themselves over Roman’s trembling hands, taking the bandage from him. “I got this,” Hellfire whispered, clearly not ‘gotting this’. He tried to wrap up his wound, and Roman just kept praying that an ambulance would show up in time. At this rate… he was scared it would be too late. 

“I’m so sorry,” the teenager repeated as he tried to think of something to do, trying whatever he could to help Logan out. “I’m so sorry- the ambulance should be here, it…”

It was ironic, wasn’t it? Roman had spent so much time trying to defeat Hellfire, trying to stop his from killing. Him possibly dying shouldn’t matter, right? They had fought so much, Logan had attempted to kill so many people… Roman shouldn’t care at this point.

But he did. 

Creativity and Hellfire were opposites, enemies. But that didn’t mean that the villain deserved to die. No one deserved to get killed. No one deserved death. Especially not a death like this. 

“It’s okay,” Logan repeated as he wrapped the bandage around his wound, trying his best to put pressure on it “Trust me, Roman.”

He stayed focused on the task at hand. Or… leg, really. His head stayed low, trained on the wound, but Roman could still see the emotions. Behind his goggles, behind his mask, despite his hands being weirdly firm and steady. He knew that Logan was scared as well. Not that he’d show it, but Roman recognized it. He was pretending to be okay, but he wasn’t. And that might be the worst thing about this whole ordeal. Logan was affected by it, and it made him feel bad, and he didn’t deserve that. And it was all Roman’s fault. It was all because of him and this would never stop haunting him. 

“It’s not,” Roman insisted. “It’s not okay.”

“It is,” Logan told the teen, finally looking up. “I’ll be fine.”

Roman wanted to believe him. He really did. But he just… couldn’t. Despite the ever-present distortion, he heard that Logan’s voice faltered, it trembled and it was softer than usual. He knew very well that this could prove to be dangerous. 

He just hoped Logan was right.

Even though the wound had been bandaged slightly, it wasn’t nearly enough. The blood kept running and in no time, the bandage was soaked with red. But there was still hope. Even if Logan eyed more and more disoriented and weaker every second. There was a sliver of hope, and Roman did everything in his power to hang on to that, even if it was slowly but surely slipping away. 

“I’m sure there’ll be an ambulance any second,” he muttered, looking at the man who was both his enemy and teacher. “I’m sure… it’s gotta be near.”

Logan shook his head gently, sitting back a bit, and Roman eyed his movements with worry. “Should I- is there anything I can do?” He was terrified that Logan would die right here, right now. That it would all be _ his _fault. He couldn’t let this man die, but what else was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to help?

“It’s okay,” Logan repeated weakly. “It’s not your fault.”

With those words, he collapsed onto the ground, unmoving. Roman waited for a second, as if he was waiting for some miracle to happen. But when it didn’t, when Logan stayed unmoving and nothing else happened, that’s when he started to panic. 

“No, no, no,” the teenager muttered as he hastily tried to locate a heartbeat, trying to confirm to himself that the other was still alive. And yes there _ was _ a pulse, but it was weak and barely there, slipping away every now and then. And Roman had no idea what to do. 

It was right then that Roman heard the blaring of an ambulance drawing nearer. But he doubted that it would be in time. Despite everything he tried, there was no way to stop the blood from flowing and by the time the ambulance arrived at the scene, it was already too late.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Major character death, breakdown, guilt, self-loathing, a lot of crying

Roman didn’t know how quickly he had to get out of there. Hindered by overwhelming emotions, he could barely focus enough to conjure up a grappling hook that was reliable enough for him to use. Around him, he heard people talking and yelling among each other, trying to figure out what had happened, and why the hero seemed so much affected by this entire display.

He got himself up to the nearest rooftop he could find and looked down at the people below. Paramedics ran up to Logan, trying anything in their power to still save the villain, even though Roman already knew that it would be in vain. They were too late, but they still had to find out. Once they did, though, a few brief calls were made, and people were questioned- likely asking if anyone else had gotten hurt, what had happened,  _ how  _ it had happened, what was going on. 

Trying to get a grip of himself, of his breathing, Roman ran his hands through his hair, walking away from the edge of the roof. He had to pull himself together, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t stop thinking about Logan and how he died, and how it had been  _ his  _ fault that Logan was dead. He had been dumb and an idiot, and this was how that turned out. Someone else had to pay for it with their life. Yes, he was a villain. Yes, he was a murderer. But that didn’t mean that Logan deserved to die.  _ No one  _ deserved something like that. No one had the right to decide over someone else’s life like that. Not even the most horrible person alive. They deserved a fair sentence, a punishment that fit their crimes. Death wasn’t one of them. No one was in a position to make a decision like that.

With shaking hands, Roman grabbed his phone again, quickly dialing Virgil’s phone number. He was just hoping to whoever might be out there that he would pick up. Roman was in need of someone to talk to, and Virgil was the one person he really,  _ really  _ wanted to talk to right now. 

“Roman?” The teenager nearly let out a sigh of relief when he heard the other’s voice. Thank goodness that he was there. 

“Virge,” the hero breathed, “I- I fucked up.”

“What? What’s up?” Virgil asked worriedly. “What happened?”

“I- I-” Roman shook his head. He couldn’t say it. Not like this. “Please can you… come over? Please? I- I’m at the- at the crossroads. Near the ci- cinema. Could you… come?”

“I- yeah,” the other agreed, confusion clear in his voice. “Sure, I’m... I’m coming over. Be there in fifteen minutes, alright?”

“Yeah,” Roman muttered softly. “Yeah… sounds good. I’ll be waiting.”

Virgil said his goodbyes and ended the call. As Roman noticed that he had hung up, he laid the phone down next to him and rested his chin on his knees, pulling them closer to his chest. He could not believe that this was happening. He had just killed his teacher. There was no way that Roman wanted it to play out like this. Even the thought of putting someone in the hospital with his actions sounded wrong to him. But someone died. Because of him. He would never be able to forgive himself for that. 

He summoned a small ice pack and put it against his wrist, the stinging had subsided in the time since it had been burned, but there was still an ache there. He just hoped that this would even do anything. That’s what you were supposed to do, right? Cool it? He was pretty sure it was  _ a  _ step, but he couldn’t get himself to focus long enough to remember what step two entailed. This would have to do.

Fifteen minutes might not seem like a long time. But when you’re alone with your thoughts, thinking about the person you just killed, yeah… then it was a very long time. Those fifteen minutes were filled with thoughts and overthinking. He just wanted someone to distract himself from his thoughts, but there was no one there and it was just him and… it sucked. That was putting it lightly. Very lightly. But if I put it in words that would describe this sensation accurately, this might be deemed too inappropriate. So let’s just say that it sucked. 

Then his phone vibrated next to him, and it scared Roman to no end. He looked up, and saw a text from Virgil, telling him that he was there. WIth a relieved sigh, Roman got up and looked down, moving around until he saw a Virgil down on the street. Most of the commotion had cleared up already, and Roman deemed it safe to let Virgil up here. So he texted his friend a quick heads up before he created a rope ladder to let him up. 

As soon as Virgil made it up, Roman got rid of it and took a few steps back to give his friend some space. 

“Roman?” Virgil looked at the other in concern as he saw his current state. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” He then noticed the blood that stained Roman’s suit, mostly the hands, and part of his legs. It’s easy to say that this raised so many more questions, but he couldn’t bear to ask his friend about it. 

Roman shook his head, momentarily unable to find any words. His throat seemed to close and the tears that had been burning for all this time seemed to all choose this moment to fight their way down Roman’s cheeks. “No, I- I…” He shook his head. This wasn’t working. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t focus, he couldn’t think. 

“Hey, hey, calm down.” Virgil gently grabbed Roman’s hand, leading him away from the ledge and carefully sat them both down on the middle of the roof. “Deep breaths, okay?” 

The teen nodded, looking up at the blur that was his friend at the moment. Virgil softly counted down. Four seconds to breathe in. Seven seconds to hold his breath. Eight seconds to breathe out. And repeat over and over again until calm. And it worked. Slowly but surely, it worked. The tears hadn’t disappeared, and he didn’t feel any less lightheaded, but his breathing was normal again. He didn’t feel like his head was going to explode with panic and lack of oxygen anymore. 

“Okay,” Virgil said as he noticed his friend calming down ever so slightly. “Can you try to tell me what happened?”

Roman nodded and leaned against Virgil ever so slightly, still refusing to look at him. “He- Hellfire was- he was- he was here, and I… fought him. You know… as I do.” He scoffed, looking at his hands and the blood staining the white fabric. “And I… I killed him.” He choked up at those last words again, tears burning in his eyes once more. God, it felt so horrible to say those words. 

“What?”

“It was a- an acc- accident, I swear! I don’t know, I just… I fell, but I- I stabbed him and I think I must have hit an artery, cause... cause there was  _ blood  _ and I tried to stop it but I couldn’t and-”

He was straight up rambling at this point, barely giving himself a chance to breathe. All he could think of was  _ that  _ image of Logan dying. Of all the blood that he was unable to stop. He just wanted to get it out as quickly as he could so he could cry and forget about this event as soon as he could. Even if he knew he wouldn’t ever be able to get that thought out of his mind. 

“Ro,” Virgil spoke gently, his soft voice managing to break through Roman’s train of panicked thoughts. “You need to breathe, okay? Remember what we just did, you need to repeat that. Deep breaths.”

Once more, Virgil led his friend through the aforementioned breathing exercise, staying calm and doing everything possible to get him to calm down as well. It hurt him to see his best friend like this, so panicked and worked up over this. He understood; he knew that Roman had done everything in his power to prevent a situation exactly like this one, and killing Logan was never his endgame. But this understanding did not ease the pain of seeing one of the most important people in his life in such a state. 

“It’s okay,” he whispered, carefully taking one of Roman’s hands. “It was an accident, it wasn’t your fault.”

“It feels li- like it, though.”

“Well, you’re just too harsh on yourself,” Virgil shrugged. “If the roles were reversed, if  _ I  _ did this… would you blame me?”

Roman scrunched up his face and reluctantly looked up into Virgil’s eyes. “No.” His voice was soft, vulnerable, and if they weren’t so unbelievably close, Virgil might not have heard it. 

“Exactly,” he nodded. “You’re being too harsh. It was an accident. These things do happen.”

“Yeah, but this accident killed someone.”

“And accidents like those happen as well.”

With a huff, Roman turned away, looking at the lights in the distance. “I still feel bad,” he muttered as he rubbed away some stray tears. “If I- if I hadn’t been there, he’d still be alive.”

“If you hadn’t been there, he would have been able to kill even more innocent people,” Virgil corrected. “You’ve done so much good, saved innocent lives. This is an accident. You’re not to blame for any of this.”

Roman groaned as he leaned his head against Virgil’s shoulder. It sounded so easy, so reasonable coming from him. But Virgil didn’t  _ understand _ . Was it an accident? Clearly, yes. He had no intention of really killing Logan. Did that mean that he would just stop feeling bad? Not in a million years. He could have prevented this so easily. With a few more thoughtful actions, precautions, anything. He was an idiot and it cost Logan his life. Even if it was an accident, it was his fault. He was the direct cause of this disaster and there were no excuses he could make. 

“Still feel bad,” he said with an apathetic shrug. “It’s still my fault.”

Clearly, it was impossible to talk Roman out of it. He seemed to be intent on tearing himself down, and his mind could not be changed. It wasn’t a big surprise, seeing as Roman  _ was  _ a stubborn dumbass, but Virgil couldn’t help but be slightly bothered by this. He wanted to help Roman, but it was going to be difficult if he refuted every statement he made, if he refused to listen. Virgil did not understand this superhero thing, he was willing to admit that. He didn’t have any experience with fighting crime, but that didn’t mean that Virgil wouldn’t be able to help him. Roman just had to let him. And it seemed that that was a bit of an issue here. 

“I understand where you’re coming from,” he began. “And I’m not saying I understand. Cause I don’t. But it’s not your fault. It’s bad luck. It sucks, but you couldn’t help it.”

Roman gave Virgil a tiny smile. He didn’t believe it. Not at all. But he appreciated that he tried to at least make his friend feel better. It was all that he could ever hope for. He knew that there was fairly little that would actually make him feel better about this. Even anything that would hypothetically prove his complete innocence wouldn’t help. So the fact that Virgil tried… it meant a lot. 

“Yeah,” he whispered under his breath. “Thanks.”

He closed his eyes and took in the unique smell of the hoodie Virgil always wore, even now. It also had a slight flowery scent, like it had just come out of the laundry. And somehow, this combination of smells worked strangely calming. It just felt so familiar for some reason, that it allowed him to really take a few breaths and settle down. Which seemed to be exactly what he needed. 

Roman would have wanted to stay there like this all night. He wouldn’t have an issue with that, but unfortunately, it was getting later and later, and he did not want to keep Virgil there with him. He wanted to, but it wouldn’t feel right. So after one last hug, Roman helped Virgil get down to the ground so that he could go back home. And Roman had to get home himself. Even if he didn’t want to. Going home meant facing his mom, and facing his mom meant telling her about Logan. And he was… terrified of that. He didn’t think she would get angry, but he was still scared of her reaction. He was scared of telling her, of confessing that he killed someone. He was scared of saying those words out loud. That would make it too final, too…  _ real _ . 

But he knew he couldn’t avoid it, even if he tried. He couldn’t keep something like this to himself. His mom would find out in minutes, seconds even. Roman wasn’t a bad actor, but Megan knew her children, and she would see that something was bothering her son. So no matter what he did, there was no way that he could keep avoiding this. 

He took a slight detour to his home, wanting to avoid confrontation with his mom as long as he could. Yet at the same time, he wanted to go home. He didn’t want to keep running from consequences but he was  _ scared _ . Yet he knew he couldn’t keep delaying. 

So there he was, standing in front of the door to their apartment. Dressed in his normal wear, hand raised, ready to open the door. Just… do it quickly, get it over with. Open the door, say ‘Hey mom, I just killed a guy’, and go to bed to avoid confrontation. Easy enough, right? 

Yeah… not really. 

With a deep breath, Roman opened the door and walked inside, immediately heading to the living room. 

As soon as the front door closed behind him, the teen hero heard something coming from the living room, and as he entered, his mother immediately came up to him. 

“Roman, thank goodness,” she gasped, stopping just in front of her son. “I saw what happened, are you okay?” 

He shook his head, unable to form any words at the sudden question, mixed in with all the tension and emotion from before, that were both very much present still. Everything just got too much for him, and just as he thought he had gotten to terms with it, patched himself up again, he started to crumble again. 

“He- he’s dead,” he choked, tears starting to blur his vision once more. “Ma- Macauley, he…”

“Oh, sweetie,” Megan cooed, immediately piecing the bits of incoherent mumbling together. “I’m so, so sorry. Can I hug you right now?” 

Roman nodded, desperately needing some form of consolation, affection, anything. Megan immediately wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as possible. Roman accepted this and immediately sank into her embrace, his shoulders shocking with stifled sobs.

“I didn’t mean to,” he brought out between sobs. “But I- he…”

“Ssh, it’s okay,” she soothed, rubbing her son’s back soothingly. “It’s okay.”

After Roman had seemingly used up all his tears, and he started to slowly remember Virgil’s breathing exercise and calm down, Megan pulled away, She stayed close, pushing a few strands of hair out of Roman’s face, looking at him calmly. 

“I know you wouldn’t intentionally do something like that,” she whispered, cupping one of his cheeks. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart.”

Roman bit back a scoff. That was only the millionth time he heard that. And it didn’t make it any more believable. How could anyone say it wasn’t his fault, when this had clearly been caused by his mistakes? If he hadn’t been there, Logan would be alive. Therefore, yes, it _was _in fact his fault. He appreciated people trying to make him feel better about all of this, but it was hard when it was so unbelievable. 

“I’m telling the truth, Ro,” Megan continued gently. “You didn’t want this to happen. Anyone can make mistakes, that’s what we’re human for. Even Creativity is just a human.”

“But I- I should’ve known… better,” Roman tried. “I should- I should have been more ca- careful, I-”

“You did whatever you could,” his mother interrupted him before he could continue tearing himself down. “That’s all you can ask of yourself.”

The hero eyed her with doubt. He knew that she had a point somewhere, but he trouble making himself believe this. He still blamed himself so much. So much more than anyone else seemed to be doing. Yes, it was a mistake. But that didn’t mean that he hadn’t been a dumbass about any of this. He should have taken more precautions. Then none of this would have had to happen. 

“Right,” he muttered, not really wanting to keep up this conversation. Even though his mother tried to make him feel better about the situation, it just made him feel worse. He’d rather just… distract himself completely. Not think about this anymore and pretend everything was still fine. That was much more comfortable than facing his feelings. “I think I’m gonna… take a shower, okay?” 

“Of course, sweetheart,” Megan nodded as she stepped back, giving her son one of those super sweet, supportive smiles. Roman wasn’t sure if it was what he needed right now. “And if you need anything, I’ll be here.”

“Awesome,” He said softly, as he backed away, in the direction of the corridor. “And… thanks mom. I love you.”


	34. Chapter 34

** _Hah that’s gay_ **

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Ro? _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Are you okay? I heard what happened _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yee _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Im goid dw _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Are you sure? _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ It’s okay if you’re not, you know? _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ We’re here for you _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Yesh yeah Im finr _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Its just _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ A lot lol _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ But thsnk you <3 _

** _[Roman]: _ ** _ Ily _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ Ilyt <33 _

** _[Patton]:_ ** _ But if you ever need to, you know you can talk to us, right? _

** _[Patton]: _ ** _ I don’t fully understand it all, but I’m here for you, and I’m sure V is too _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Yeah _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Thanks Pat _

** _[Roman]:_ ** _ Youre awesome <3 _


	35. Chapter 35

** _Hellfire’s last stand_ **

** _ In a thrilling final fight against local hero Creativity, villain Hellfire has finally been defeated. In the middle of the Old Town Crossroads, his chain of crimes has been put to a halt. _ **

_ Briefly before the encounter between Hellfire and Creativity on July 26th, the villain stopped police officer Jonathan Robb as he was driving home. Robb has been accused of several racially charged hate crimes, but has not been convicted for any.  _

_ Robb was admitted to the hospital, where he died to his injuries, despite Creativity’s interference.  _

_ In the fight that followed, Creativity managed to mortally wound Hellfire. It was reported that an ambulance came to the scene, but it was too late to save the villain.  _

_ It has been confirmed that Hellfire’s real identity was Logan Macauley, a chemistry teacher at Wilson High. Principal Jessica Rowes has said to be shocked at this reveal, but has refused to make any further statements.  _

_ Despite Hellfire’s deeds and reputation, students of Wilson High organized a memorial the day after. Many students voiced that they were shocked by the revelation, saying that they had never thought Macauley to be the face behind the mask. _

_ The day after the initial fight, Creativity released a video on his social media, making his apologies for the consequences of the battle and giving his support to the family Macauley left behind. He also clarified that he never intended for this to end the way it did.  _

_ Macauley leaves behind a son and a spouse, renowned scientist Remy Picani, most known for their work on the so-called ‘I-particle’. They have not responded to this ordeal, nor to Creativity’s apology. _


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: guilt, mentions of death

A few days passed, and Roman mostly stayed home. He called in sick for work that weekend, and he even skipped going to the gym. It wasn’t that he didn’t  _ want  _ to - okay, that’s a lie, he kind of didn’t want to work - but it was more that he  _ couldn’t _ . His nights were fairly rough, and he didn’t sleep well. There were a lot of… unpleasant dreams. And he couldn’t get them out of his mind. Which impacted his ability to go back to sleep - or to get to sleep in the first place. It was easy to say that he… wasn’t feeling well. And you can bet that that was an understatement. 

The one thing that pulled him through this, was his friends. Virgil and Patton never ceased to try anything in their power to make him feel better, or at least keep his mind away from the situation. They never stopped being supportive sweethearts, and Roman could not describe how much them being there meant to him. Even if he felt like he was burdening them with his melancholy from time to time. He never liked being so open with his negative emotions, Especially not when it concerned heavy subjects like the death of their teacher. Not that he didn’t trust them, he just felt like it would bother them too much if he kept talking about this. But they kept insisting that it was okay, that they were there for him, that they wanted to help. And they were so sweet and kind about it, that he decided to open up to them a bit more. It was slightly reluctant, but in the end… it was a good decision. Talking to them about this made it a whole lot easier to deal with. 

And then there was the date with Virgil. Another good way of distracting him. It was something Roman was really looking forwards to, and the teen found that focussing on that was another thing that made everything easier to deal with. It gave him something nice to look forwards to, something to focus on instead of his sorrow and self-pity. 

It would be a picnic, a little more than a week after the incident, as the three teens decided to start calling it. Virgil knew that his moms loved preparing outings like that, and so, it was fairly easy to convince them to help him getting everything ready for the big day.

On the day itself, Roman decided to put on some makeup, for the first time in what felt like forever. In all honesty, he didn’t really have much reason to wear much makeup lately, so that was probably why. But with this date coming up, he had all the reason in the world to go for the best look he could possibly create. It might even make him feel better to focus on something as calming and satisfying as this. 

He went for his favourite bright red lipstick, with mascara, eyeliner and some dark purple eyeshadow as a contrast to his light blue eyes. And don’t forget a hint of foundation and concealer to hide all the evidence of him feeling like shit lately, and you’re good to go. Roman actually thought he looked… pretty fucking great, if he was being honest. And he felt great, too. It’s weird how much difference some makeup could make on ones confidence. 

After a quick goodbye to his mom - who gave him one of those knowing looks, fully aware of how gay Roman was for Virgil - the teen walked to the bus stop, waiting for the bus to take him to the park. It only took a few minutes before the bus arrived, but it still felt way too long. Roman way too excited for this date; any minute he had to wait, was a minute too long. 

He took the bus for a little under half an hour before he got off. Then, he still had to walk ten minutes to the park where he would meet Virgil at the entrance - ten minutes that turned into a little more than than fifteen because Roman went the wrong way a few times. 

When Roman walked finally did make it to the park, he could already see that Virgil was waiting there for him. He was wearing his ever present hoodie, and Roman couldn’t help but wonder if the guy wasn’t dying of heat at this point. Not judging his clothing choices here - it was actually really adorable that he wore it so often - but it was the middle of summer, and it certainly wasn’t cold. 

“Hey,” Roman greeted as he walked up to his friend, a small flutter in his stomach at the sight of the other. “Ready to go?”

Virgil looked up and for a moment, his heart stopped, cause holy fuck Roman looked absolutely  _ gorgeous _ . “I- eh- yeah,” he managed with a smile, “Totally. You look… amazing, by the way.”

Roman smiled shyly. “Aww, thanks,” he responded. “You look awesome too! As always, obviously, but…” He trailed off and ended his sentence with a soft cough. “Anyways… shall we go in?”

“Wha- oh, yeah,” Virgil nodded, slightly caught off guard - probably still lost in his very gay thoughts. “Come on, I know a really nice place.”

He stretched his arm, hesitated slightly, but took Roman’s hand anyway. With a shy smile, he led Roman into the park. They followed the path for a bit, until they ended up near a small lake. That’s where Virgil strayed from the path and sat down in the shadows of a large tree. From this spot, they could oversee a big part of the park. The lake, and the people walking between the trees on the other side. Alone, with their companions, with their dogs. It was ridiculously pretty. 

“This is amazing,” Roman smiled as he sat down in the grass next to the other. 

“I know, right?” Virgil gave his friend a small smile, but there was some hint of earnestness and concern in his eyes as well. “How are you doing, though?”

Roman tore his eyes away from the view in front of him to give Virgil a quick look. “You’re talking about Logan, aren’t you?” he asked before turning his eyes away. “I’m handling it.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t fully true either. He was handling it, in some way. It wasn’t the most healthy way of coping, but he wasn’t wallowing in his own misery like he did the first few days after it happened. Now, he was actively trying anything in his power to ignore it. That was progress, right?

“Are you, though?”

“Yes, trust me! I’m getting there.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Getting there isn’t the same as handling it.”

“Okay, maybe not,” Roman huffed, pulling his legs to his chest. “But can we… not… go there right now?”

This was supposed to be a date. A fun getaway with the one he loved, rather than… a lecture about coping mechanisms. It was meant to get away from all the stress of day-to-day life, of Creativity. He didn’t want to invite all of that in right now. Was that so much to ask? 

“Alright, alright,” Virgil nodded, giving the other a look that could only be described by ‘soft’. “We won’t talk about it.”

Roman turned his head and gave his friend a grateful smile. “Thanks,” he breathed. “I don’t want to think about any Creativity-stuff right now.”

“I get it.” Virgil turned to the basket next to him. “Want a sandwich? My moms got us a bunch of stuff, so if you want…”

Of course, Roman could never say no to food. He eagerly accepted, and found that Virgil wasn’t exaggerating when his moms got them ‘a bunch of stuff’. They certainly did not have to worry about starving today.

The afternoon flew by, talking, eating, having fun. It was really nice to just talk and not worry about anything. Especially after everything that happened lately. The lovely weather, the simply gorgeous view, and the sweetest company one could ever wish for turned out to be the distraction Roman had so desperately needed. It didn’t magically make everything okay, but it did make it more bearable. 

“Hey,” Roman softly called after a while. He looked up at Virgil and hesitated for a moment before he continued. “Can we… talk about some Creativity stuff? Is that cool?”

Virgil looked down at the other, who had leaned back against the tree slightly. Their eyes locked for a second, and Virgil almost seemed to be analysing Roman. “Is it cool with  _ you _ ?”

“Yeah. I- I actually want to,” he admitted. Roman knew that he himself had said that he didn’t want to talk about anything Creativity, but there was something bugging him. And he needed to get it out, discuss it with someone, and get feedback. Because he knew this would consume him if he didn’t. And right now… he trusted Virgil the most with this kind of talk.

“If you’re certain.”

Roman nodded. As certain as he would ever be. Right now, he felt calm enough to discuss a topic like this, and he  _ knew  _ that he would lose this bout of courage and would continue to bottle up these thoughts and leave them unspoken. And for once… he didn’t want to do that. 

“I just… feel bad about the whole deal with Macauley.” As he spoke, Roman looked at his hands, tearing a handful of grass loose from the ground. “I just keep feeling like it’s my fault, and the whole… thing, it’s everywhere. And on top of that… Emile and Remy know who I am. They know what I did. And I feel like I should talk to them, in person, but I’m too afraid to face them so I just make a quick video in the hopes that that will be enough, but it’s not and it won’t be, but I don’t know what else to do anymore. I mean, what happened, is… serious. This isn’t just some small accident. And I feel like I should own up to it, especially towards them, but I don’t know how.”

“Then… maybe you don’t?”

Roman pushed himself up, looking at Virgil with a slight frown. He didn’t hear that right, did he? He was misunderstanding this, right? “What do you mean?”

“I mean… what happened was a mistake,” Virgil tried to explain. “A mistake with some severe repercussions, maybe. But still a mistake. Something that could have happened to the best of us. Everyone makes mistakes. And you’ve already come clean to the public. You said it was a mistake, you apologized, you showed your compassion. Maybe that’s all you need to do.”

“It still feels like a jerk move,” Roman persisted. “They lost family. That’s… really fucking shitty. I don’t know if I can get away with a general statement. This is influencing  _ them  _ as well.”

“It is. But you can’t make a point out of it to apologize to everyone who is directly affected by your actions. In the long run, that might become impossible. I’m sure Logan didn’t visit the families of  _ his  _ victims to apologise.”

“But he-”

“You already showed your goodwill by posting that video,” Virgil interrupted. “I’m sure they’ll understand. Emile’s a good guy. And Remy… well, I don’t know them that well, but it’s not like we’ll see them that much anyways. Point is that you did what you thought was best. You apologized, and at this point, that’s really all you can do. Making that video must have been hard enough on its own, and I cannot stress how proud I am of you. I know this is hard on you, but you did great, Ro. Really.”

Roman smiled, unable to contain a grin and a small hint of a blush. Virgil really knew exactly what to say to make him feel better. Did this get rid of his worries completely? Not even close; he would still worry about this issue later. But it did help him see that maybe Virgil was right. Maybe this would have to suffice. He had been telling himself that he needed to see Emile and Remy. That, because they knew about his identity, that he owed that to them. A personal apology, a talk. Anything. And he feared that so badly. Coming face to face with the consequences of his mistakes… he wasn’t sure he would be able to handle that. He knew they were devastated. They had to be. Losing a loved one was never any fun. But to come face to face with the one who took them away from you, that might just be worse. And Roman did not know if he was ready to go there. It might seem stupid to say, but he was terrified of seeing their reactions. He was scared that they would be less than accepting. He couldn’t say he’d blame them if they were. If he was in their place… he didn’t know if he would want to meet the culprit. 

“I love you,” the hero whispered breathlessly, looking at Virgil. He gave a small smile before he carefully placed his hand over Virgil’s, giving the other enough space to pull away if he felt uncomfortable. 

If you had told past Roman that he would be going on a date with Virgil, he would have refused to believe you. But here he was. On a date with the cutest guy that he had ever seen. And despite all of the circumstances, the teen could not help but think that he was pretty lucky to be here with him. 

“I love you too,” Virgil responded as he leaned in a bit closer. “Even if you can be a complete moron sometimes.”

“That’s why you love me, isn’t it?”

Virgil shrugged. “Sometimes.” He gave Roman a teasing grin that made his heart start beating wildly with how utterly gorgeous he looked, and for a moment there, Roman was so tempted to close the gap and kiss him right there, but he didn’t want to make Virgil uncomfortable or invade his space. 

Instead, he tilted his head slightly, allowing himself a better look at the teen in front of him. “Virge?” His voice was soft and hardly audible over the sounds or their surroundings. If they hadn’t been so close, Virgil likely would have missed it. 

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?” 

When Virgil hesitated, Roman was ready for a declination. Which would be fine, don’t get me wrong. But that is why hearing him utter a soft confirmation was such a pleasant surprise. 

“For real?”

Virgil huffed with a slight shake of his head. “You need to top second guessing everything, you moron,” he said. “Yes, for real.”

“I just wanna be sure,” Roman justified with a shrug. “Can’t help it.”

“Sometimes I wonder why I like you,” Virgil teased. “You’re an idiot.”

“What, I’m an idiot for wanting you to be comfortable?”

Virgil rolled his eyes with a smirk. “It’s just… a general statement,” he tried. “Shut up, okay?”

“I’m just saying- if you’re not comfortable, then…”

“But I told you that I am,” Virgil interrupted. “So…”

There was a slight hesitation as he leaned in a bit closer. Roman followed suit, but honestly he had no idea what he was doing or what he had to do. He’d never kissed a guy before! How was he supposed to know?

They kissed, and the cliche ‘I swear there were fireworks’ would definitely apply to Roman here. It just felt… right? It was soft, brief and exactly everything Roman expected it to be. Maybe even better? It was hard to tell. He didn’t make a list of expectations beforehand. 

Roman was the one to pull away first. He supported himself with one hand on the ground, so he would not fall over. His head was still swimming, doing its best to process what just happened. Did he actually just  _ kiss  _ Virgil? Because it seemed like it. It was suspiciously close, but he had trouble believing it. 

The hero made a small grin at the other, unable to hold it back. There was just so much emotion going through him at this point that he felt like he could combust any second now. Was this actually happening? He honestly doubted it. It felt so real but at the same time, it totally didn’t. It was way too good to be true. 

Except it wasn’t. Nothing strange happened, Roman didn’t wake up in his bed, there were no hidden cameras… it was all totally real, it was actually happening. The two of them continued talking together for a while longer, both seemingly stuck in a haze of ‘is this actually happening?’ as they did. But the day eventually came to an end, like all things do, and the two had to reluctantly say their goodbyes. 

They walked back to the entrance of the park, where their paths would split again. They both tried to stall the moment of their departure for as long as they possibly could, but they were painfully aware that this moment could not last forever. 

“I really enjoyed this,” Roman confessed rubbing the back of his neck. “We… we should do this more often.”

“Agreed,” Virgil nodded with a relieved smile on his face, looking like a huge weight fell off his shoulders. “We should. And… if you ever need to talk about… you-know-who again, you know where to find me.”

“Of course. If Voldemort’s ever bothering me, I’ll come to you.” Roman flashed a quick grin at this comment, whereas Virgil just responded with an eyeroll and a suppressed smile. 

“We had a moment there, Ro,” he said, trying his best to sound annoyed, “don’t ruin it.”

“Not ruining anything,” the other retorted. “You started it.”

“You are unbelievable.”

Roman chuckled. “Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself.”

Virgil shook his head, trying to think of a good comeback, but unfortunately failing. Roman was a complete idiot, but he was so happy to have this idiot in his life. Honestly, he couldn’t be happier with him. 

“We should probably head out,” he concluded after a few moments. “Don’t wanna miss our buses.”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” He hesitated for a while as his impulses flared up again. Should he… 

Ah fuck it, why the hell not?

He gently took Virgil’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I love you,” he said once again. “We should hang out as soon as possible.”

“We should,” Virgil agreed with a blush creeping up on his face. Roman and his stupid romantic gestures. How was he supposed to react to that, honestly? There was no appropriate response for something like this. “I love you too.” He held onto Roman’s hand a few moments longer, giving him a small but incredibly soft smile. But eventually, they had to leave at some point. They both had a bus to catch. 

So, after a quick final goodbye hug, the two went their separate ways again. “See you soon,” Roman said as he pulled away.

“Yeah,” Virgil nodded. “You better.”


	37. Chapter 37

“I’m home,” Roman called out as he closed the front door behind him. He quickly kicked off his shoes and proceeded to walk into the living room. 

“There you are!” Megan greeted with a smile on her face. “So, how was your date, huh?”

Roman bit back the urge to make a remark about how his mother was way too curious as he sat down next to her. Instead, he decided to just give a normal answer for once. At least she was interested and supportive, which was more than a lot of peers could say. She seemed to ship him and Virgil quite a lot, too. 

“It was awesome,” he responded happily. “We had a great time, talked a lot. It was really fun.”

“I’m glad you had fun, sweetie,” she smiled, laying an arm on her son’s shoulders. “You think you’re gonna do it again?”

Roman nodded eagerly. “Definitely,” he answered. “It was… just… great.” He made a vague gesture with his hands. There were no words that could possibly describe the date. It was so incredible and amazing, and so many more things that words would never do justice.

It wasn’t difficult to see how delighted Roman was with the course of events. He was truly excited, and it made Megan so happy to see. All she wanted, was for her kids to be happy, however they would end up. And especially since Logan’s death, it was good to see her son in such a good mood. She was worried sick about her son being a superhero. Concerning both his physical and mental wellbeing. Yes, fighting was dangerous, but that was not all this gig was. And Logan’s death was just an example. Roman tended to be quite hard on himself, as proven by the past events. If anything went wrong, he’d blame himself over it, beat himself up over and over, and that was in no way healthy. Especially if he was carrying the weight of protecting the city on his shoulders on top of that. He felt too responsible, and a seventeen year old couldn’t possibly begin to even try to fulfil all these expectations he had set for himself, but he seemed so reluctant to let up on himself, even a little bit. Personally, Megan couldn’t say she blamed him. She didn’t understand the feeling of what he must be going through, but she could imagine that he felt so obliged to do the right thing. Hell, she’d probably feel the same way if she were in his position. But all of that did not mean she could not be worried about her son. He was putting so much pressure on himself, and she feared that one day, that might end in something bad. It was not unlikely that the pressure would grow as time went on, as Creativity gained more fame. And the expectations Roman had sat for himself would change, become harder to reach. That would not be good for him in any way.

Not to mention the incredible danger he put himself through by just  _ existing  _ as a superhero. At least… if she should believe the comics and movies. She had no idea how this would turn out in real life, as no hero had existed before him. But there was no discussion possible that this job was a dangerous one. Any fight could be his last, and they’d never see it coming until it was too late. And as a mother, that might be the worst knowledge. There was a fair chance that Roman would die before she did, and that was a terrifying thought. She just hoped that day would never come. 

Over dinner, Roman ate fairly little. He felt like he had eaten enough at the picnic to sustain himself for at least a week. But he needed to have some dinner, you know, nutrients and stuff. On top of that, it was just… nice to sit with his family over dinner, so they could talk and catch up a bit. 

Sophie had been out to a theme park with Alex and his family, and she excitedly told him about every ride they’d been on, and everything they’d seen there. In turn, Roman told her the details of his date with Virgil; about where they went and what they had done. Megan said nothing as her two children shared their accounts of the day. 

“Roro?” Sophie asked after a brief silence had fallen in the kitchen. 

“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked his little sister, looking at her with a smile. 

“Can you tell me a story tonight?” 

“But of course,” Roman responded without a moment of hesitation. “You know that I could never say no to you.”

Sophie grinned, clearly content with this response and returned her attention to eating the last bits of her dinner.

Later that evening, Roman had to come up to Sophie’s room for a bedtime story, as he had promised. He hadn’t had enough time to come up with a full, original story, since she’d asked him relatively late. Late for Roman, at least, seeing as he liked to put as much thought in his tales as possible. Making the story's background, the world, working out the characters as well as he could. It was rare that he could work out the full story in merely a few hours. But, there was something else that he could do, which would hopefully be just as satisfying as an original story. 

He sat down next to his sister’s bed. She was already cuddling her plush cat expectantly, looking at him with that adorable happy smile of hers. 

“You ready?” he asked. Sophie nodded eagerly, and Roman couldn’t held back at least a soft chuckle. “Good. This time, I’ve got something else for you that normally. Do you want to hear something about Creativity?”

Sophie gasped and nodded excitedly. For a moment there, it seemed like her head would fall off. “Ooh, yes!” she exclaimed, a big smile growing on her face. 

“Clear enough,” the teen noted with a single nod. “Now look, do you see this?” He pulled his shirt down a bit, revealing the red mark on his chest that Logan had left there with his creepy claw-like weapon. It was still warm, and Roman had no idea why. Sophie nodded and looked at the red mark with big eyes. “Wanna know how I got that?” Again, the little girl nodded. Duh, of course she wanted to know. Why wouldn’t she want to know? It was basically a battle scar. Of course she wanted to know everything about it.

Roman smiled and told her the entire story, starting from his stakeout at the charity event, the attack on the mayor, up until Hellfire’s reveal and the aftermath of his attack. Sophie hugged her stuffed cat close and didn’t seem to move a single muscle that entire time. She was so immersed in the story and seemed to be clinging to Roman’s every word. Completely entranced. 

“And you wanna know the weirdest thing?” he asked when he came to the end of his story. “It’s still warm.”

“Wait, really?” Sophie’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she didn’t believe her brother’s tale.

But he just nodded, eyeing her with a smile. “Really,” he promised. “Do you wanna feel it?”

“Can I?”

“Yeah, of course,” the hero smiled. He grabbed his sister’s hand and put it on the mark. He didn’t feel it anymore, but if he put his hand on it, he could still feel the warmth. It was honestly just… really weird. “Do you feel that?”

Sophie nodded, almost in awe at this. It really  _ was  _ warm. Warmer than a human body should be under normal circumstances. “Woah,” she gasped. “It is! How?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted. “It isn’t as hot as it used to be when I first got it, but it hasn’t cooled down much lately. I have no idea how, it just… happened.”

“What’s it like? Being a hero?”

Roman took a moment to think of this question. What was it like? That was a surprisingly good question. He’d never thought of how it felt, he just… experienced it. He had never put much thought into it other than… having to do his job well. “Honestly?” he finally asked in response to her. “It’s awesome. It can be scary, if I’m fighting someone, especially. Of course, it’s dangerous as well, which can be scary, but overall… it's super cool. Having the chance to help people, and do something good for the city is just great.” He paused for a moment, looking at his little sister. “Maybe when you’re older, I can take you with me on a patrol.”

Sophie gasped again, sitting up a little straighter. “Ooh, please! Can you please?”

“We’ll see about that,” Roman smiled, ruffling her hair. “You’d need to be older, though. I can endanger my baby sister, can I? Mom would kill me if I did.”

“I’m not a baby,” she pouted with a soft huff. 

“Of course not,” he told her. “But to me, you totally are.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Maybe not, but that’s the way it is.” He shrugged as he got up, shooting the little girl a wide grin. “You should sleep now. We can talk more about this tomorrow, deal?”

Sophie nodded, still pouting. “Deal.”

“Goodnight, pipsqueak,” Roman said as he got on his knees next to the bed and kissed Sophie’s forehead. 

“Love you, Roro,” she muttered, hugging him to the best of her abilities. 

“Love you too, Soph,” he responded. He then slowly got up and walked towards the door. “Goodnight.”

With one final smile at her, he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so seeing as this is officially the end, I feel like I should leave it with a huge shoutout to my betas for helping me out a ton and giving me some great feedback (also idc how much you did, even if you just did one page, if you gave comments, you're a beta, don't question me); my gf Hazel for letting me rant about this whole ordeal and the story haha, it helped a lot to have someone irl to talk to lmao; and Kei for listening to my entire ramblings about this fic (and all the fics to come in this universe ngl), helping me out with some problems (especially the American school system oof) and writing Logan, even though I really didn't do him justice. And also for fleshing out some more character motivations and parts of this universe in general, I'm sorry for rambling about this so much lately
> 
> But yeah- I really liked writing this fic, even though I'm even more excited for what's to come because I... may or may not have planned a lot for the future in this universe oops   
Those were the credits, I guess so- back to your regularly scheduled me uwu


	38. Oh, worm?

Remy walked into the lab, as if they hadn’t just been away for a good number of weeks. Hands in their pockets, sunglasses hiding their eyes and the bags underneath it. If you saw them, nothing would seem off about them - except maybe the fact that they wore sunglasses inside, but they were eccentric enough to pull a stunt like that. No one would really question that stylistic choice. 

They walked to the back of the lab, scanned their card and waited for the heavy metal door to open. It was their first day back since Logan’s…  _ incident _ , and while a part of them had been restless and dying to get back to work, another part of them knew they had to be there for Emile, as well as taking care of themself and the responsibilities around Logan’s death on top of that. But now, with everything wrapped up, they felt like they were good enough to get back into it and they couldn’t be happier about it. For quite a few reasons.

They left the prescribed protective suits behind and went straight to the backroom of the lab. Honestly, their duty right now was more of a formality. The i-particle had been stolen a few days prior, but this didn’t mean there wasn’t anything for the scientists to do. Sure, it was all just paperwork, filing, and trying to find a way to locate the particle, but there was still work. It just wasn’t… the most exciting part of the job. 

“Morning,” Remy sighed as they sat down next to their coworker that day. Amélie du Pond, one of the most renowned scientists in the world when it came to the i-particle. She was famous for her experiments and her insights, so the lab had been ecstatic when they had managed to sign a contract with her. It was an honour that many people had wanted to receive. 

Amélie looked up at Remy and smiled. “Morning, Remy,” she greeted gently, closing the notebook in front of her. “How are you feeling?”

Remy wasn’t an idiot. They noticed the overly gentle tone in her voice, the soft look in her eyes. It was way out of character; she wasn’t usually this soft. She pitied them. Because of what happened. Because of Logan. They despised it. 

“I’m good, thank you.” They forced a smile on their face as they sat down next to her, looking at the files on the desk. “How are you?”

“Good,” she nodded. “It’s been a while. I haven’t seen you since-”

“Yeah,” Remy interrupted hastily, not wanting to go  _ there _ . “Yeah, I know. I’ve been dying to get back to work.”

Amélie scoffed. “Good luck with that,” she muttered. “There’s not much to do lately.”

Yeah, no shit. The very subject of their experiments, the i-particle, was gone. There was nothing to experiment on. Unless they would manage to find the particle, or something else with similar properties, they would soon be out of a job. 

“Hey, work is work,” they tried with a hopeful smile. “Any progress lately?”

Amélie quickly updated her colleague on the progress on locating the particle, and on the paperwork. Accounts of people believing they saw something weird, of animal life acting strangely, et cetera. But it wasn’t much. Hardly enough to work with, and half of the reports weren’t even related to the particle.

The two talked for a bit and went to some of the files on the desk, analysing some reports in the hope of finding a signature close to the particle’s unique one, so that they might be able to take it back. But they didn’t have much luck. 

All through that morning, Remy snuck some glances at Amélie, debating whether or not to bring up something they had grown to realise. They had looked through some of the files from the day of the heist that caused the loss of their most valuable object, and some things… did not add up. The alarm should have gone off as soon as the container had been removed from its holding place, there should have been a lockdown, they should have had camera images of the scene of the crime. But nothing of that had happened. It was as if someone had prevented this from happening. As if the security system had been shut down. So either, the burglars knew exactly what they were doing, or it was an inside job. And they had some suspicions as to what the answer might be. 

“Say, Amélie,” they started after a few moments of thoughtful silence. “I had a question about last week?”

“Hmm? What is it?” She looked up and rested her chin on her hands, looking at Remy with sudden interest. 

“I got access to the files on that day,” they started, turning away from the screen in front of them to face their colleague. “I noticed some oddities, and I couldn’t really help but wonder… I don’t know how to say this, but… you did it, right?”

Amélie let out an incredulous laugh, looking at Remy with an amused grin. “What? No, no, you’re wrong,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I would never… what would make you think that?”

“Look, it’s okay if you did,” they told her, sparing a quick glance at one of the cameras in the corner of the room. “I don’t want to stop you, but if you… plan on… doing anything with it, you might run the risk of ending up on Creativity’s radar.”

This really seemed to catch Amélie’s attention. She had just picked up another file with a dismissive shake of her head, but at Remy’s statement, her head shot up again and she looked at them with interest. “What about it?” 

“I’m just saying, if you need something…” They paused for a moment, wanting to be sure that there was no one who could listen in on this conversation. Which of course, was unlikely. Hardly anyone came in here unless they had business here, and right now, they were the only ones working. But you could never be too careful with this topic of conversation. “I know who he really is.”

“What? How?”

“Logan.”

She nodded. “Ah,” she mused, not quite sure how to respond to this news. It kind of came out of nowhere, and there was no way she could have been prepared for this. “Well, if that is the case… I’m listening.”


	39. Quick announcement cause AO3 is doing weird things

I'm just making a quick announcement here to say that the sequel is up! It's fine on my laptop but it doesn't show up as the next work on mobile for me, so I just... wanna be sure people see this lmao uwu


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